Richardson & Kelly from Newberry College claim 2nd, University of Tennessee’s Gee & Sentell finish in 3rd
The conclusion of the 2021 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on May 27, 2021marks the end of the 2020-21 Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series.
2021 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Winners with 32.51 lbs. Photo BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing
Hundreds of the nation’s top collegiate bass fishing anglers competed on Lake Murray in South Carolina for a National Championship, $30,000+ in prizes and contingencies, as well as a winner to be crowned Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. When the scales closed at Dreher Island State Park, Noah Skolnick and Garrett Torres from Texas Christian University take the victory at college fishing’s longest-running National Championship event with a two-day total of 32.51 pounds.
View complete tournament standings HERE.
Skolnick and Torres were sitting in 15th place after Day 1 of tournament competition. The duo weighed 13.53 pounds on the first day of the event. As the final day weigh-in drew to a close, Skolnick and Torres were the last team to come to the scales, needing 18.26 pounds to take the title. In dramatic fashion, the duo brought in 18.98 pounds to take over the top spot on the leaderboard. As the winners of the 2021 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, Skolnick and Torres win a grand prize of $5,000. Skolnick also goes home with an additional $500 as the winner of the Garmin Tournament Rewards.
Finishing the event in 2nd place overall are Tim Richardson and Gerard Kelly from Newberry College. The two freshman anglers entered today in 2nd place and held on to that spot in the standings with a two-day total weight of 31.79 pounds. Richardson & Kelly controlled the Engel Coolers Hot Seat for close to an hour, fending off some of the best collegiate anglers in the nation. The local team from just up the road in Newberry goes home with a $2,500 cash prize.
Rounding out the Top 3 are Robert Gee and Chad Sentell from the University of Tennessee. The team finishes the 2021 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops with a two-day total weight of 31.66 pounds. Gee and Sentell earn $1,500 cash for their Top 3 finish.
The day’s festivities concluded with the culmination of the 2020-21 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Top-ranked University of Montevallo managed to hold on to that top spot and finish the season as the number one ranked team in all of collegiate bass fishing. Montevallo took over the top ranking back in November of 2020 and did not relinquish that number one spot. This marks the first time Montevallo has won the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.
Back-to-back defending title holders McKendree University finish the season ranked 2nd, and Adrian College moves up one spot in the rankings to slide into 3rd.
The Association of Collegiate Anglers would like to send out a special thanks to all of the series partners that help to support these anglers and make everything possible. Also, thank you to Capital City/Lake Murray Country for the wonderful hospitality this week and for helping us to put on a tremendous event for these great collegiate anglers.
