DAY ONE RECAP | FINAL RESULTS
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of New Orleans golf team made it two straight tournament wins on Tuesday, as the Privateers held off Middle Tennessee to take the Sam Hall Intercollegiate at Hattiesburg Country Club.
Mandeville native Ken Looper made it a UNO sweep, as the sophomore claimed individual medalist honors after firing a 2-under par 69.
The Privateers shot 3-over par as a team in the final round to defeat MT by four shots.
UNO, which won the Squire Creek Invitational hosted by Louisiana Tech two weeks ago, recorded back-to-back team championships for the second straight season.
"Once again, I'm just really proud of these guys," said UNO head coach Chris McCarter, whose program has won five tournaments since September 2007. "Conditions were pretty tough all week, and these guys really grinded it out from start to finish."
UNO, which had four players finish in the top 16 individually, won it thanks to a steady back nine. The Privateers were 1-under par as a team coming home after turning at 4-over par.
Looper, who was 1-under par for the three-round event, defeated Arkansas State's John Duthie by one shot to win his second career individual championship. UNO senior Adam Cornelson carded a 1-over par 72 to finish in a tie for third ? four shots behind Looper.
Jose Toledo and Oscar Zetterwall each finished with a 73 to get a tie for 16th, while Hector Arias (tied for 29th) shot a final-round 78. Sebastian Szirmak, competing as an individual, shot a 77.
"Again, we managed to beat a couple of really good teams this week," McCarter said. "Middle Tennessee finished 15th in the NCAAs last year, and to go head-to-head with them all week was really big for our guys."
The Privateers, who completed their fall season, will kick off the spring season Feb. 9 and 10 at the UNO Mardi Gras Invitational at TPC Louisiana.
