Monday, Oct. 12, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Denise Cook
(706) 379-5237, bdcook@yhc.edu

YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Young Harris College’s newly formed bass fishing team scored its first tournament win on Saturday, Oct. 10, when team members Clint McNeal, a sophomore from Woodstock, Ga., and Brad Rutherford, a freshman from Lavonia, Ga., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Division event on Lake Guntersville, Ala., with six bass weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the College and the College's bass fishing club.

"This is awesome," said Rutherford. "I caught my first fish on my first or second cast and it was a six-pounder. It was tough fishing the rest of the day. We really had to work hard. We had most of our success on isolated grass patches using large swimbaits."

"We came here to win," said McNeal. "We didn't catch too many fish, but the ones we did were keepers. We never fished deeper than seven feet and kept to the edges of the grass patches. I am just pumped!"

Rounding out the top five teams at the tournament were Kennesaw State University, University of Tennessee, Auburn University and Faulkner University.
 
“Our team just started this semester, and this was our first tournament,” said Danny Rubino, sponsor for the Young Harris College bass fishing team. “We are in the process of restructuring the club right now to accommodate growing interest.” The team is organized as a club sport at the College, has at least six members and is still growing. Rubino’s role involves overseeing the club’s operation and helping them organize.
 
“Now we’re trying to raise sponsorship money and support for the team so that they can travel and continue to compete. We also hope to get involved with some local community events,” Rubino said.
 
According to Rubino, the team members prepared for the tournament by making an effort to fish “every day and all weekend” when possible. Rubino has 10 years of boat racing experience and also serves as assistant coach for the Young Harris College softball team.

The Young Harris College team now advances to the televised Southeast Division Regional Championship in Stanford, Fla., Nov. 21-23, where they could ultimately win a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the YHC club and $25,000 for the College. They will receive team shirts and boats provided by Ranger.

If the team wins the Regional Championship in November, they will then advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional event for a total of 25 teams. Teams will be provided shirts and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevrolet trucks for this competition. The purse for the championship ranges from $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $50,000 for the school they represent to $15,000 for fifth, split between the club and school.

The winning team will be declared the National Guard FLW Collegiate National Champion and will qualify for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta, Ga., which will be held at Lake Lanier. The winners will also receive use of a wrapped boat and Chevrolet truck for cup competition. The FLW Outdoors College Fishing schedule is available at CollegeFishing.com along with rules, requirements and club information.

Full-time students enrolled in four-year colleges or universities are eligible to participate in the events. Schools can send two-person teams to each of the four qualifying events in their division, with each event limited to a maximum of 40 teams. Each team has the opportunity to win $10,000 for first through $2,000 for fifth place. Prize money is split evenly between the winning team's club and the school they represent. The tournaments are free to enter, boats and drivers are provided by FLW and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each qualifying event advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.

About Young Harris College
Founded in 1886, Young Harris College is a private, baccalaureate degree-granting college located in the beautiful mountains of north Georgia. Historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, Young Harris College educates, inspires and empowers students through the highest quality liberal arts education. Long known for nurturing students during the first two years of college, Young Harris College received accreditation in 2008 to grant bachelor’s degrees. The College currently has approximately 700 students across four divisions—Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics and Science, and Social and Behavioral Science—and plans to increase enrollment to 1,200 over the next few years. The historic campus in Young Harris, Ga., is currently undergoing major campus improvements to accommodate the College’s growth. For more information, visit www.yhc.edu.