Kennesaw State University wins College Fishing Southeast Division event on Pickwick Lake

The top five teams from the National Guard FLW College Fishing event at Pickwick Lake

June 11, 2011 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

FLORENCE, Ala. – The Kennesaw State University team of James Ellis of Acworth, Ga., and William Roland of Powder Springs, Ga., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Division event on Pickwick Lake Saturday with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split between the university and the university’s bass fishing club – $7,500 for the bass club and $2,500 for their school. The win also helped them advance to the Southeast Division Regional Championship.

“This feels pretty good,” said Roland, a freshman. “It was a lot of fun. We’re used to fishing smaller fisheries, so it was a lot different to fish a big lake like that with the possibility of getting a big bite.

“We were fortunate to put two fish over 3 (pounds) in the boat today, so that helped out,” Acworth added.

Acworth said the team caught about 30 keepers during the course of the day and began the day exploring the backs and mouths of creeks.

“We went shallow this morning,” Acworth said. “I knew if there was going to be a shallow bite it would be this morning.”

“The grass and the brush looked pretty good, so I picked up my flipping stick and flipped a Sweet Beaver and noticed I was getting quality bites on that,” Acworth added. “So we flipped brush all day.”

Rounding out the top five teams and also advancing to the Southeast Regional Championship are:

2nd: Auburn University – Matt Lee, Auburn, Ala., and Jordan Lee, Vinemont, Ala. (five bass, 13-6, $3,000)

3rd: Mississippi State – Xan Hancock, Tupelo, Miss., and Andrew Gordon, Caledonia, Miss. (five bass, 13-4, $2,000)

4th: UAB – Taylor Mardis, Oneonta, Ala., and Patrick Townes, Cullman, Ala. (five bass, 12-8, $2,000)

5th: Tennessee Tech – Ryan Harpe, Cookeville, Tenn., and Chris Thomas, Cookeville, Tenn. (five bass, 11-9, $2,000)

The tiebreaker between first and second place went to Kennesaw State University. According to the rules, the tie goes to the team that signs up first for the tournament.

The top five teams from each tournament qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team will win $12,500 cash for their school and $12,500 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club. The top five teams from each regional tournament advance to the national championship where the first-place team will win $25,000 for their school and $50,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.

College Fishing is free to enter and FLW Outdoors provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

The National Guard FLW College Southeast Regional tournament is scheduled for Sept. 8-10 at Lake Harding in Auburn, Ala.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWCollegeFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/CollegeFishing. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.

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