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Golf: Making the turn – the UL Golf TeamDan McDonald, Daily Advertiser, Oct. 16, 2013 Through three-quarters of its fall schedule, UL’s golf team has its first tournament win in four years and another high finish in a highly-regarded event where they beat two Top 25-ranked teams. The Ragin’ Cajuns also have an 11th place finish in an 11-team tournament in between those outings. That’s the hazards of fielding perhaps the youngest team in the Division I ranks, but Cajun coach Theo Sliman isn’t complaining … not by a long shot. “It’s exciting to see what these guys are doing, and even more exciting to think what they’re capable of,” Sliman said this week with his team getting a couple of weeks away from tournament play. “I am really, really proud of these guys.” UL finished fourth last week in the David Toms Intercollegiate hosted by LSU at the University UL finished ahead of 18th-ranked Houston and now-30th-ranked LSU, which was playing on its home course. “We beat some pretty good teams, but this team has beaten some really good programs this year,” Sliman said. “We had some great opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of, though. We need to clean up some of the mental errors. “But we’ve won a tournament and been in contention in another, so we know we have the skill set needed to win.” Those skill sets have been shown by a lineup that hasn’t had anyone over sophomore classification play in the first three events. Two players – freshman Fernando Cruz Cruz Valle came out of The Woodlands, Texas, and made an immediate statement with a seven-under 67-66-71–206 score at the Sam Hall meet in leading UL to that title. His second-round 66 tied for the third-lowest card posted by a Cajun player since at least 1993, and his opening 67-66 is the second-best back-to-back round scores in that 20-year period. He followed up with 73-72-74 scores at the Columbia, Mo., Regional Preview and then finished tied for third in last week’s Toms meet with a three-under 70-71-74–215 score. His 71.1 scoring average currently leads the Sun Belt Conference “That’s pretty good for a freshman to be leading the conference,” Sliman said. “To get two top-five finishes and playing with the leaders shows what kind of special player he is. He’s comfortable playing in the lead group … it’s a place he expects to be at each tournament. It’s going to be fun watching him the rest of the year.” But UL’s performance through three events has been far from a one-man show. Sophomore Thomas Strandemo, who saw only limited action last year, went bogey-free in the middle round at LSU and posted back-to-back one-under 71 scores on his way to a tie for 15th. Sophomore Christian Verrougstraete tied for 25th and Magnus was in that top 25 until the very end. Five of the Cajuns’ top six are averaging below 74 through the three tourneys, and Baton Rouge sophomore Ross Davis isn’t far from that mark and also leads the team in final-round scoring average (70.5) heading into the Nov. 4-5 Arkansas State Fall Beach Classic at Gulf Shores, Ala. “We might have backed up a couple of spots in the final round,” Sliman said of the Toms meet, “but this team came home a much better golf team than when we got to Baton Rouge.” SLU was the surprise team there, going into the tournament ranked 147th in the national rankings before having Hammond native Grady Brame and Eamon Bradley go 1-2 individually and lead the Lions to a stunning 16-stroke win. “To be able to run away from a field of this caliber, on a tough course, and facing rainy, windy conditions is just phenomenal,” said long-time SLU coach Tim Baldwin. “This is one of the biggest wins in school history.” That’s how Sliman felt at the season opener, and he knows that event and last week won’t be the last times the Cajuns are in contention.
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