MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. — UL’s golf team posted the lowest round in the entire Sun Belt Conference Tournament over its final 18 holes, and used that to claim a fourth-place team finish while also putting two players in the top 10 and three in the top 15.

The Ragin’ Cajuns carded a final-round eight-under-par 280 over the Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals’ “Fighting Joe” course and finished with a three-round total of 16-over 880 to move up from sixth place entering the final round.

South Alabama claimed the team title with a final-round 282 and a three-round eight-over 872 total, with first and second-round leader Middle Tennessee finishing at 878 — two ahead of the Cajuns — and New Orleans finishing at 879 for a one-stroke advanage over UL.

All four of UL’s counting scores in the final round were under par — three-under 69’s from Philipp Fendt and Andrew Noto and one-under 71’s from Kyle Pritchard and Mark Brockhurst — and Thomas Disch added an even-par 72 for the squad’s best team round of the spring season.

Those figures vaulted Fendt and Pritchard into a tie for sixth individually at one-over 217, while Noto finished 15th at five-over 221 after his final-round 69. All three earned All-Sun Belt Conference recognition, with UL and Middle Tennessee the only teams to boast three all-league selections (more on all-Sun Belt picks below).

The strong final round mirrored last year’s Sun Belt meet, when the Cajuns had the tournament’s low score in the final round with a five-under 283 on the way to a fourth-place finish.

Pritchard, a senior, had back-to-back 71 scores in the final two rounds.

“It’s a great honor for Kyle in his senior year,” said UL coach Theo Sliman of his tournament. “To play his last tournament the way he did was just awesome. He took the initiative and stepped up in the last two rounds.”

Fendt, UL’s leader in stroke average during the season, rallied from a three-over 75 in the middle round on the way to his 69, which matched  fellow sophomore Noto and was one stroke off the day’s best round.

“It’s impressive to earn all-conference as sophomores,” Sliman said. “This is a huge positive for their futures. It shows a lot about their performance this season and what is to come.”

Pritchard, Fendt, Noto earn all-Sun Belt honors

It is the second straight honor for Pritchard. The senior closes out his collegiate career, having played in 37 tournaments with 14 top-25 finishes. His best finish came at the Red Wolf Classic last season where he earned co-medalist honors.

It is the first all-conference award for Fendt and Noto. Last year, Fendt was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Both golfers were the top-finisher for UL in every tournament this season. Fendt led the Cajuns in nine tournaments and Fendt finished as the top Cajun golfer in three events.

2010 SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN’S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Kent Bulle, Middle Tennessee
Marc-Etienne Bussieres, South Alabama
Rodolfo Cazaubon, North Texas
Lloyd du Preez, Arkansas State
Philipp Fendt, Louisiana
Linus Gillgren, UALR
Hunter Green, Middle Tennessee
Jack Hiluta, South Alabama
Espen Kofstad, Denver
Ken Looper, New Orleans
Jason Millard, Middle Tennessee
Andrew Noto, Louisiana
Carlos Ortiz, North Texas
Kyle Pritchard, Louisiana
Alex Yost, WKU
Oscar Zetterwall, New Orleans

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Rodolfo Cazaubon, North Texas

COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris McCarter, New Orleans

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – UL’s golf team slipped back one spot in Tuesday’s second round, but remains in the hunt for a high finish in the Sun Belt Conference Golf Tournament entering the final round.

The Ragin’ Cajuns added a 303 to their opening 297 total, and stand s at 24-over-par 600 going into Wednesday’s final 18 holes. The Cajuns are 14 back of 41^st-ranked and front-running Middle Tennessee, but are only two strokes out of fourth place.

Middle held onto its first-round lead with a 300 score on Tuesday, but New Orleans made a big move with the low round of Tuesday’s play with a five-over 293 team score. The Privateers are only three strokes back at 589, and South Alabama is one more stroke behind at 390.

North Texas and UL Monroe are each two strokes ahead of the Cajuns at 598 after two trips around the 7,171-yard par-72 “Fighting Joe” layout at the Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals complex.

The Cajuns couldn’t match their consistency from Monday’s first round when all four of UL’s counting scores ranked in the top 25 individually and the lowest score the Cajuns had to count was a three-over 75. Instead, UL had to count both a 77 and an 80 in Tuesday’s second round.

Kyle Pritchard, though, rebounded from an opening 75 with a one-under-par 71 in the middle round, and he stands tied for eighth individually at two-over 146. His 71 tied for the third-lowest round of the day.

UL’s Philipp Fendt, who was tied for 10^th after an opening 73, added a 75 to stand at four-over 148 and tied for 15^th entering the final round. Andrew Noto (75-77–152) is tied for 28th, Thomas Disch (74-80—154) is tied for 34^th and Mark Brockhurst (77-82—159) is 50^th in the 60-player field.

UNO’s Oscar Zetterwall holds the individual lead at 71-66—137, seven-under-par after shooting the day’s low round by four strokes Tuesday. He is six strokes ahead of the field. Carlos Ortiz of North Texas, who blazed to a 64 on Monday to tie the course record and lead the event by six shots, skied to an 83 on Tuesday and shot himself completely out of the top 10.

The final round will begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday with UL paired with North Texas and UL Monroe.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE GOLF TOURNAMENT

SECOND ROUND SCORES

TEAM

1. Middle Tennessee      286-300—586

2. New Orleans              296-293—589

3. South Alabama          296-294—590

4. North Texas               291-307—598

4. UL Monroe                302-296–598

6. UL Lafayette                  297-303—600

7. Arkansas State             303-298—601

8. Western Kentucky      298-306—604

9. Florida Atlantic             305-303—608

10. Ark.-Little Rock          308-302—610

11. Troy                                312-304—616

12. Denver                          308-309—617

INDIVIDUAL

1. Oscar Zetterwall, UNO              71-66—137

2. Hunter Green, MT                      73-70—143

3. Troy Anderson, DU                     72-73—145

3. Rodolfo Cazaubon, UNT           72-73—145

3. Chris Plumelli, USA                     72-73—145

3. Craig Smith, MT                            70-75—145

3. Alex Yost, WKU                            71-74—145

8. Marc-Eltienne Bussieres, USA               73-73—146

8. Kyle Pritchard, UL                        75-71—146

8. Jack Hiluta, USA                           73-73—146

11. Linus Gillgren, UALR                 76-71—147

11. Jason Millard, MT                      73-74—147

11. Carlos Ortiz, UNT                       64-83—147

11. Nick Wilson, ULM                      70-77—147

15. Philipp Fendt, UL                       73-75—148

15. Ken Looper, UNO                     74-74—148

15. Wessel Zwiegers, ASU            76-72—148

18. Espen Kofstad, DU                   76-73—149

18. Michael Oates, ULM                                74-75—149

20. Hector Arias, UNO                    76-74—150

20. Doug Kleeschulte, WKU         75-75—150

20. Chris Pledger, ASU                   76-74—150

20. Kell Shenep, ASU                      75-75—150

20. Ben Silverman, FAU                 76-74—150

25. Kent Bulle, MT                           70-81—151

25. Neil Horsley, WKU                    78-73—151

25. Adam McCleary, ULM             79-72—151

28. Andrew Noto, UL                      75-77—152

28. Richard Casko, Troy                  74-78—152

28. Justin Eaves, Troy                     79-73—152

28. Sebastian Gunnarsson, UALR              78-74—152

32. McLain Leberte, USA               78-75—153

32. Kelly McHugh, FAU                  78-75—153

34. Thomas Disch, UL                      74-80—154

34. Dylan Raines, UALR                  77-77—154

34. Sebastian Szirmak, UNO        75-79—154

37. Marco Scarola, UNT                 79-76—155

37. James Searson, ULM               83-72—155

37. Brad Simons, MT                       74-81—155

40. Peter Fallon, UNT                     76-80—156

40. Klointon Krieger, DU                                76-80—156

40. Reid Merritt, Troy                     77-79—156

40. Justin Thompson, FAU            82-74—156

40. Tyler Thompson, ASU             79-77—156

45. Carl McCauley, FAU                 73-84—157

45. Zachary Portemont, Troy       83-74—157

47. Michael Baskovich, FAU         78-80—158

47. Andrew Heiser, WKU              74-84—158

47. Dustin Thompson, UNT          80-78—158

50. Mark Brockhurst, UL                                77-82—159

51. Lloyd du Preez, ASU                                76-84—160

52. Nicklaus Benton, UALR           77-84—161

52. Rourke Van Der Spuy, Troy   82-79—161

52. Felipe Velazquez, UALR         81-80—161

55. Blake Kelley, USA                      79-82—162

56. Jeremy Cross, ULM                  79-84—163

57. Jon Lopez, DU                            84-84—168

58. Derek East, UNO                       83-86—169

59. Kevin Gillick, DU                        87-83—170

60. Logan Edelen, WKU                 92-87—179

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – UL’s golf team couldn’t boast an exceptionally low individual score Monday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, and coach Theo Sliman wasn’t disappointed in that.

Instead, Sliman was happy with the consistency the Ragin’ Cajuns showed in their first trip around The Shoals’ 7,171-yard “Fighting Joe” layout, a trip that has them in fifth place after the first 18 holes – but only one stroke out of third place and 11 out of the lead.

“We had good consistency from top to bottom,” said Sliman after his team’s nine-over-par 297. “To me, I’m proud of that for the first day. Now if each player can clean that up just a little bit and we get some putts to fall, we can make a pretty good move.”

The Cajuns and front-running Middle Tennessee were the only teams to have all four counting scores rank in the top 25 on the first day. Middle, ranked 41^st nationally entering the league meet, posted a two-under 286 score Monday and leads runner-up North Texas by five shots. South Alabama and New Orleans are five more shots back at 296, each one stroke ahead of the Cajuns entering Tuesday’s second of three rounds.

Philipp Fendt had a one-over 73 to lead the balanced Cajuns and stand tied for 10^th individually, with Thomas Disch at 74 and tied for 16^th, and both Andrew Noto and Kyle Pritchard at 75 and tied for 22nd in the 60-player field. Mark Brockhurst finished at five-over 77 for the non-counting score Monday.

“All those guys looked very confident,” Sliman said. “Kyle is the only guy that’s seen this course from when we played here two years ago, so he’s got a lot of confidence here. He had a great ball striking round and hit 16 greens, but just had some putts that didn’t fall … some putts that would have been real momentum changers for him.

“Philipp struck it well all day and could have scored a lot better. Andrew struggled with his ball striking, but he battled back and played the last four holes one-under and that really helped our team score.”

North Texas’ Carlos Ortiz, a true freshman, was the only big success story Monday over the wind-blown Shoals layout. Despite the 20-to-25 mile per hour winds, Ortiz blazed to an eight-under 64 and shot eight-under over the final 12 holes. No one else in the field was closer than six shots to the leader and only six players broke par.

Kent Bulle and Craig Smith of MTSU were both at two-under 70 along with Nick Wilson of UL Monroe.

The second round is scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday with the teams playing a final 18 holes on Wednesday. The tournament winner earns an automatic bid to the NCAATournament.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE GOLF TOURNAMENT

FIRST ROUND SCORES

TEAM

1. Middle Tennessee      286

2. North Texas               291

3. New Orleans              296

3. South Alabama          296

5. UL Lafayette             297

6. Western Kentucky      298

7. UL Monroe                302

8. Arkansas State          303

9. Florida Atlantic          305

10. UALR                      308

10. Denver                    308

12. Troy                        312

INDIVIDUAL

1. Carlos Ortiz, UNT                   64

2. Kent Bulle, MT                       70

2. Craig Smith, MT                     70

2. Nick Wilson, ULM                  70

5. Alex Yost, WKU                    71

5. Oscar Zetterwall, UNO            71

7. Troy Anderson, DU                72

7. Rodolfo Cazaubon, UNT        72

7. Chris Plummelli, USA             72

10. Philipp Fendt, UL               73

10. Marc-Ettienne Bussieres, USA          73

10. Hunter Green, MT                 73

10. Jack Hiluta, USA                  73

10. Carl McCauley, FAU             73

10. Jason Millard, MT                73

16. Thomas Disch, UL              74

16. Richard Casko, Troy                        74

16. Andrew Heiser, WKU            74

16. Ken Looper, UNO                74

16. Michael Oates, ULM             74

16. Brad Simons, MT                 74

22. Andrew Noto, UL                75

22. Kyle Pritchard, UL              75

22. Doug Kleeschulte, WKU       75

22. Kell Shenep, ASU                75

22. Sebastian Szimak, UNO       75

27. Hector Arias, UNO               76

27. Peter Fallon, UNT                 76

27. Linus Gillgren, UALR            76

27. Espen Kofstad, DU             76

27. Klinton Krieger, DU              76

27. Chris Pledger, ASU              76

27. Lloyd du Preez, ASU            76

27. Ben Silverman, FAU             76

27. Wessel Zwiegers, ASU         76

36. Mark Brockhurst, UL                       77

36. Nicklaus Benton, UALR        77

36. Reid Merritt, Troy                 77

36. Dylan Raines, UALR 77

40. Michael Baskovich, FAU      78

40. Sebastian Gunnarsson, UALR           78

40. Neil Horsley, WKU               78

40. McLain Leberle, USA            78

40. Kelly McHugh, FAU              78

45. Jeremy Cross, ULM             79

45. Justin Eaves, Troy               79

45. Blake Kelley, USA                79

45. Adam McCleary, ULM          79

45. Marco Scarola, UNT             79

45. Tyler Thompson, ASU          79

51. Dustin Thompson, UNT        80

52. Felipe Velazquez, UALR       81

53. Justin Thompson, FAU         82

53. Rourke Van Der Spuy, Troy  82

55. Derek East, UNO                 83

55. Zachary Portemont, Troy      83

55. James Searson, ULM           83

58. Jon Lopez, DU                    84

59. Kevin Gillick, DU                  87

60. Logan Edelen, WKU             92

UL’s Ragin’ Cajun golf team will take part in the Sun Belt Conference Championship beginning Monday, Apr. 26 in Muscle Shoals, Ala. This year’s three-day tournament is being held at The Shoals, part of Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, with teams playing three 18-hole rounds Monday through Wednesday to determine the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cajuns and the 12 other Sun Belt men’s golf teams will attempt to tackle The Shoals’ “Fighting Joe” course. The par-72 course that runs along Wilson Lake on the Tennessee River is hosting the Sunelt meet for the second time in three years.

Teeing off for the Cajuns will be Philipp Fendt, Andrew Noto, Kyle Pritchard, Mark Brockhurst and Thomas Disch.

As a team, UL is coming off a fourth-place finish at the ASU Red Wolf Classic. In the final round, the Cajuns posted a team-score of 4-under to jump from a tie in seventh to fourth.

Fendt is currently ranked as the 110^th golf in the Royal & Ancient World Amateur Golf Ranking. He ranks sixth among the Sun Belt with an average score this season of 72.23.

Noto is averaging 73.07 strokes per round this season and is ranked 11^th in the league.

Middle Tennessee won last year’s championship. The Cajuns claimed the conference championship in 2007.

UL’s Ragin’ Cajun golf coach Theo Sliman has announced two additions to his team for the 2010-11 season. Peter Lamaris and Christoph Weninger have signed National Letters of Intent to tee off for the Cajuns next season.

 “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed recruiting these young men,” said Sliman. “I feel that both these young men will make an immediate impact on our program, not only from their talent but also from their character as young men.”

Lamaris is a native of Norah Head, New South Wales, Australia. He is a two-time champion of the New South Wales State Age tournament in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Lamaris was the youngest player to make the cut at the Australian Amateur Championship.

“His long-term goal is to play professional golf,” said Sliman.”He is excited that UL will provide him the opportunity to develop his skills in a great academic environment. He has worked with Alex Mercer, the Butch Harmon of Australia, and he is constantly improving.”

“I like his enthusiasm to be here at UL,” added Sliman. “It will be contagious and beneficial to the whole program.”

 Weninger comes to UL from Mondsee, Austria. At the 2009 Doral-Publix Public Junior Championship, he finished in the top-25 out of over 170 golfers. He posted rounds of 74 and 69 in the first two rounds on the Blue Monster course at Doral Golf Resort in Miami, Fla.

“I had the pleasure of watching him play at the Doral-Publix Public Junior Championships,” said Sliman. “What drew me to him was a golf game that is mature beyond its years. It looked like I was watching a well-accomplished amateur. He has a determination about him that is beyond his years.”

Lamaris and Weninger will join Woodworth-native, Tyler Ledet, who signed with the Cajuns in the fall.

“I’m anxious for the fall to get here,” added Sliman. “With two great players returning that can teach and instruct them, I feel Peter, Christoph and Tyler’s talent levels will ease the learning curve.”

Acadiana boys’ high school golf teams will be involved in six different regional tournaments this week, with all of those teams seeking to qualify for state title competition just over one week later.

This week’s regional play:

DIVISION I (Class 5A) — Region I, Tuesday, April 27, 8 a.m., Gray Plantation (6,703 yards, par 72), Lake Charles. Competing: Acadiana, Carencro, Comeaux, Lafayette, New Iberia, St. Thomas More, Westgate. STATE TOURNAMENT: May 3-4, Atchafalaya at Idlewild in Patterson.

DIVISION II (Class 4A) — Region II, Wednesday, April 28, 8 a.m., Acadian Hills (6,450 yards, par 71), Lafayette. Competing: Beau Chene, Breaux Bridge, Cecilia, Jennings, Northside, Opelousas, St. Martinville, Teurlings Catholic. STATE TOURNAMENT: May 5-6, Links on the Bayou, Alexandria.

DIVISION III (Class 3A) — Region II, Thursday, April 29, 8 a.m., The Oaks at Sherwood (6,497 yards, par 72), Baton Rouge. Competing: Abbeville, Berwick, Catholic-New Iberia, Erath, Franklin, Kaplan, North Vermilion, Notre Dame, Patterson, Rayne, West St. Mary. STATE TOURNAMENT: May 4-5, Copper Mill, Zachary.

DIVISION IV (Class 2A) — Region II, Tuesday, April 27, 9 a.m., Indian Hills (6,283 yards, par 71), Opelousas. Competing: Iota, Jeanerette, Lake Arthur, Loreauville, Mamou,  Opelousas Catholic, Port Barre, Sacred Heart-Ville Platte, Ville Platte, Welsh. STATE TOURNAMENT: May 3-4, Oak Wing, Alexandria.

DIVISION V (Class 1A) — Region II, Tuesday, April 27, 8 a.m., Koasati Pines (6,682 yards, par 72), Kinder. Competing: Central Catholic, Delcambre, Gueydan, Hanson, North Central, St. Edmund, Vermilion Catholic, Westminster. STATE TOURNAMENT: May 4-5, Beaver Creek, Zachary.

DIVISION VI (Classes B-C) — Region III, Tuesday, April 27, 8 a.m., Bayou Oaks (6,268 yards, par 72), Sulphur. Competing: Centerville, Episcopal of Acadiana, Holy Rosary, Midland. STATE TOURNAMENT: May 4-5, Beaver Creek, Zachary.

OPELOUSAS — Indian Hills in Openlousas will host its second annual St. Jude IHCC Four-ball Benefit on May 1-2 at the course, and will be seeking to again raise thousands of dollars for the St. Jude Foundation.

The two-man best-ball format actually kicks off on Friday, April 20, with the announcement of flights and pairings, after registration closes at noon that day. A social is scheduled at 7 p.m. that evening at the clubhouse,  and during the Calcutta party all players are invited to take a chance to make one putt for a $5,000 prize. Door prizes including cash for wives and girlfriends of paid tournament participants are also available.

Start time is at 9 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Director of golf Marty Young said that the goal of seven 10-team flights is within reach, but that slots are still available. Sponsorships at all levels are also available, and information is available from Young at marty_young94@yahoo.com or by calling (337) 308-2514.

In other Indian Hills news:

* Jamey Kelly recently recorded a hole-in-one on the fourth hole and also added an eagle pitch-in from 85 yards out on the eighth hole, in the same round.

* Four other eagles were recorded on the same weekend. Jerry Falghoust’s 30-foot putt on the 18th hole was good for one, and Jamey Kyle also eagled the final hole. Troy Young pitched in from 80 yards out for an eagle on the second hole, and Cecil LaVergne also had a 40-yard chip-in for eagle.

* Indian Hills will resume its Weekly Scramble on Thursday, May 6 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The 9-hole event has a $10 charge with up to six players per team and three places paid in each. Couples and/or children will be paired together if possible, and free hamburgers will be available for all paid participants.
 
* Wednesday, May 5, will mark the beginning of Indian Hills’ weekly dogfights, which will be held each Wednesday and Saturday. Fees are $5 on Wednesday and $10 on Saturday, with registration from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesdays and 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays. Teams will be picked at random at the completion of the Stableford Scoring System event, and places will be paid depending on entries along with an optional skins pool.

NEW IBERIA — Johndavid Nickel of Notre Dame started out strong and never looked back in claiming individual honors, and St. Thomas More had solid all-around scores to win the team title in the Acadiana Area High School Golf League’s wrapup tournament for the 2010 season.

Nickel was three-under on the front side on the way to a 33-38–71 score over the Squirrel Run layout, finishin four strokes in front of Teurlings Catholic’s Michael Hollier and Acadiana High’s A. J. Gaudin in the individual chase.

STM, meanwhile, had its four counting scores all between 77 and 82 and rode that balance to a 317 total score, 14 shots better than runner-up Notre Dame (331). Lafayette High, which had won all but one of its eight AAHSGL matches during the regular season, had injury problems in the season-finale tournament and finished tied for third at 333 with Teurlings Catholic.

A total of 10 teams took part in the final tournament of the season, which also included the announcement of this year’s All-Acadiana team. That team will appear under the “News” section of AcadianaGolfer.com.

2010 Acadiana Area High School Golf League

18 Hole End of The Year Tournament Results

St Thomas More                     317                              Westminister                           363

Eustis Corrigan 38-42 – 80                               Chris LaBorde  47-38 – 85

Kent Broussard            42-40 – 82                               Joseph Kowalski          45-41 – 86

Ross Robicheaux          40-37 – 77                               Quinton Pitre                51-45 – 96

Colby Bererich 40-38 – 78                               Nick Lange                  50-46 – 96

Dillon Angelle   46-47 – 93

Notre Dame                            331                              Opelousas Catholic               371

Johndavid Nickel          33-38 – 71                               Ben Vidrine                  41-45 – 86

Kyle Camp                   43-40 – 83                               Jason Howard              51-41 – 92

Ali Lucas                      45-41 – 86                               Ryan Hackett                46-42 – 88

William Mahaffey          44-48 – 92                               Patrick Kidder              55-50 – 105

Waylon Young  48-43 – 91                               Ben Finchum                54-53 – 107

Lafayette                                 333                              Rayne                                      414

Brady Sturm                 37-44 – 81                               Cory Johnson               48-56 – 104

Layne Sims                   41-42 – 83                               Landyn Thibodeaux      51-50 – 101

Matt O’Friel                 41-41 – 82                               Caleb Bruce                 51-41 – 92

Justin Duplantis was out with a                          Victor Fields                 60-57 – 117

shoulder injury.

Teurlings Catholic                 333                              Catholic New Iberia              450

Austin Richard  36-40 – 76                               Marcus Lopez              53-55 – 108

Michael Hollier 38-37 – 75                               Thomas Dartez 57-58 – 115

Christian Hurst  42-48 – 90                               Zack Beck                   56-53 – 109

Dakota Simon              44-48 – 92                               Angelo Drago               62-57 – 118

Stephen Hardey            47-48 – 95                               Andrew Walker            61-57 – 118

Acadiana                                346                              Comeaux                                455

A.J. Gaudin                  40-35 – 75                               Tanner Whitley 52-56 – 108

Tyler Menard                43-52 – 95                               Michael Foti                 61-60 – 121

Bach Holbert                47 -40 – 87                              Austin LeBlanc 59-57 – 116

Adam Hobbs                51-38 – 89                               Andrew Lawrence        60-58 – 118

Thomas Dailey  59-59 – 118                             Andre Perrin                 58-55 – 113