Golf: Cajuns Golf Claims 2013 Sam Hall Intercollegiate Title

Jeff Schneider, September 10, 2013

Contact: Jeff Schneider
 
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After a record showing on Monday, the Ragin’ Cajun golf team cruised to its first tournament title in four years as Louisiana captured the Sam Hall Intercollegiate Title on Tuesday at the Hattiesburg Country Club.
 
The title is the first since the fall of 2009 when the Cajuns took the Carter Plantation Title.
 
"I am extremely pleased and proud of the guys," head coach Theo Sliman said. "They fought hard in the end. Having a four shot lead with some tough SEC schools putting the press on makes it a challenge to hold on and win. These guys did exactly what we preach every day by sticking with the process and staying in the moment. For us to post a tournament record and then turn in second lowest score in the tournament history shows the potential of this young group."
 
Louisiana was able to fend off a late surge by Mississippi State to finish the 54-hole tournament with a score of 15-under par (837), one stroke ahead of the Bulldogs.
 
South Alabama (843, -9), Mercer (845, -7) and Tennessee Tech (847, -5) round out the top five teams at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate.
 
"When you have a team loaded with underclassmen there is a learning curve, but the team was able to figure it out early and turn some heads," Sliman said. "To shoot even par in the final round is not easy to do. Especially when you have some pretty powerful SEC teams nipping at your heels. This was a total team effort as we had counters from every guy on the team."
 
Joe Sakulpolphaisan posted a final round score of five-under par (66) to win individual medalist honors with an overall score of 14-under (199).
 
The Cajuns had three golfers place in the top 25 led by freshman Fernando Cruz Valle who finished in a tie for 5th with an overall score of seven-under (206). Cruz Valle knocked in a birdie putt on 18 that turned out to be the winning putt for Louisiana.
 
"To have a freshman like Fernando make a birdie on the final hole to win the tournament will only jump start our season and his career," Sliman mentioned. "I really like the poise that he showed after watching the two other players in his group knock in birdies on the same hole."
 
Haraldur Magnus placed in a tie for 13th after carding a 54-hole score of four-under par (209), while Ross Davis notched his fourth straight top 25 performance finishing in a tie for 16th at three-under (210). Davis posted the best round of the day for the Ragin’ Cajuns shooting a score of three-under (68) on the day.
 
Sophomores Christain Verrougstraete and Thomas Strandemo rounded out the scoring for the Cajuns as Verrougstraete placed in a tie for 30th at two-over par (215) and Strandemo ended up in a tie for 43rd at four-over (217).
 
"You never know with any team how they are going to perform right out of the gate," Sliman said. "Usually it takes a couple tournaments for the team to get into a rhythm. I’m certainly not surprised of the result. I knew coming into this year that I had a very talented team. We are coming home excited and proud and will enjoy this one for 24 hours, but after that we are going to get back to work."
 
Louisiana is back in action next Monday, Sept. 16 as the Cajuns head to Columbia, Mo. for the 2013 Regional Preview hosted by the University of Missouri.
 
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