UL golf coach Theo Sliman is hoping that Ragin’ Cajun followers — and the players themselves — remember the season-long accomplishments of 2011-12 and not the final two days.

The Cajuns made the NCAA Tournament field as a team for the first time in five years and stood in sixth place in the Greensboro, N.C., Regional after the first day of play last Thursday — only one spot out of the magical top-five that would advance to the national meet.

But the final two days were a non-stop struggle, and the 11th seeded Cajuns wound up 12th in the field.

"It was disappointing to finish the way we did," Sliman said, "but it’s also understandable. I played enough competitive golf to realize that when you know you have to shoot a certain number, a really low number, nine times out of 10 it’s not going to happen."

That’s the situation the Cajuns found themselves in during the final regional round "» having to go for broke and somehow post a really low number to have any hope of advancing to the nationals.

"We haven’t made it to the nationals in a while, and I felt like we were pressing. Plus, you also had Philipp (Fendt) and Andrew (Noto) realizing that this was their last time out as they let their emotions get to them."

Noto was the top finisher for the Cajuns, tying for 28th with an eight-over 224 score. Fendt finished in a tie for 58th at 231, their scores sandwiched around junior Brandt Garon’s 227 to tie for 44th. Garon carded a one-under 71 in the opening round before he and every other member of the squad had progressively higher scores in both the second and third rounds.

The Cajuns went from 295 in the opening round to 305 and 316 — a season high score — in the final two rounds.

"The final round was just a snowball effect, the emotions of seeing something slip away and not be able to grab it," Sliman said. "We finished about where we were seeded, but we were a better team than what we performed and we showed that the first day."

The NCAA finish didn’t put a damper on a season in which UL had seven top-five finishes and four top-three team efforts, including a third place in the Sun Belt Conference meet for their best league finish in four years. UL also had two individual victories, with Noto winning the prestigious David Toms Intercollegiate hosted by LSU in Shreveport and Chris Weninger winning the Kansas Invitational.

"I’m really proud of the success of the whole year," Sliman said. "It’s a big accomplishment to get an (NCAA) at-large bid "» those things are hard to get. You’re talking about 65 schools getting into the tournament out of 350 so that’s a pretty good accomplishment, and even less as at-large. We were in an elite group of at-large teams and we need to be proud of those kids for that."

"Making the Turn" appears each Wednesday. Clubs, courses and individuals with information about local golf events may email Dan McDonald, editorial director at Golfballs.com, at danmcdonald@cox.net, FAX to (337) 857-8763 or call (337) 857-8754 and leave a message with phone number. Listen to the "Making the Turn" radio show each Wednesday from 8-9 a.m. on ESPN—Sports Radio 1420.