DALLAS, Texas —  Navy men's golf captain Benjamin Valdez (Jr / Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) completed the two-day, 54-hole Jackson T. Stephens Cup with a 5-over par 221 to place 38th among a field that featured seven of the top 50 teams in the country. Valdez was one of seven golfers who received a special invitation to play as an individual in the team-scored event held at the Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.

Valdez, who was playing in his second event (Army-Navy Star Match) in the span of seven days, struggled in the opening round, carding a 5-over par 77. However, he bounced back and found his stride in Monday's afternoon round that saw him finish with a 3-under par 69. Valdez closed out play on Tuesday afternoon with a 3-over par 75.

Florida State, ranked 28th in the latest installment of the Golfweek Men's Team Collegiate Rankings Presented by StrackaLine, won the stroke play portion of the tournament by 5 strokes over 23rd-ranked Arizona. The Seminoles covered the course 51 strokes under par and featured rounds of at least 16 under (271-270-272=813). Arizona jumped two spots in the final standings to place second with a 46-under par 818 (278-272-268), followed by #29 SMU (-39, 825), #24 LSU (-32, 832), #35 San Diego State (-31, 833), #49 Stanford (-29, 835) and #8 Arkansas (-27, 837).

All five of Florida State's golfers placed among the top 10, while Arizona's Tiger Christensen earned medalist honors with his 19-under par 197 and featured an 8-under par 64 in the final round.

Florida State will square off against Arizona on Wednesday in match play for the tournament title.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Lee represented the Navy in the women's tournament and finished 37th on the player leader board.

The Jackson T. Stephens Cup is named in memory of the late Augusta National Chairman Jackson T. Stephens, who attended the Naval Academy and graduated as a member of the Class of 1947. The field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is named Jack Stephens Field, whose gift of $10 million in 2003 aided in the renovations of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, as well as a handful of other projects part of the United States Naval Academy Campaign: Leaders to Serve the Nation.

Valdez and his Navy teammates return to the links Oct. 15-16 at the Georgetown Intercollegiate held at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

### Go Navy ###