The defending National Collegiate Bass Fishing champions placed second in their host tournament, the 2007 Carolina Outdoor Sportsmen Intercollegiate tournament, Saturday and Sunday on Falls Lake.

The BassPack duo of Josh Quesinberry, a senior in horticulture and tournament director, along with Jarid Church, a junior in fisheries and wildlife science, weighed in with a total of 14.9 pounds.

With a field of nine teams, including former ACC teams such as the University of South Carolina, late changes for the duo on the last day of fishing was not enough to overtake the Virginia Tech club. Tech strung together a four-fish Sunday weighing in at 22.1 pounds to seal the win and keep the Pack out of first.

“We made some good decisions at key times, especially a mid-day run on Sunday to the north end of the lake which put us in a spot to make a run for the win,” Quesinberry said. “I lost a five-pounder, and my teammate lost a four-pounder, which would have sure given us the win.”

The Pack came away with second place, but it also came away saying the tournament was a success.

“We could not have asked for a better tournament this weekend,” Jason Livingston, a sophomore in English, said, “The weather was great, and it was good to see more schools out there this year on the lake. And we hope to see the same schools plus more out there next year.”

Since the club won the bass fishing championship in the fall, it has seen more support during tournaments from sponsors in the community.

“Having the tournament televised this year on Fox Sports and with the help of our sponsors like Ranger and FLW, we have really been able to put on a great tournament that all the teams were pleased to be in this year,” Ryan Pearce, a senior in business management, said.

This year the tournament added a new twist with students doing everything for themselves on the lake.

“The best part of the tournament was that it was all students,” Cody Yandle, a senior in horticulture, said. “We allowed students to drive their own boats this year instead of having one expert drive and guide each boat around.”

The student focus of the tournament fits with the philosophy of the BassPack, according to Pearce.

“Our main focus is not how well you can fish,” Pearce said. “Our main focus is the education of fishing and conservation.”