AVONDALE, La. -- The University of New Orleans golf team is in fifth place following first-day action of the Mardi Gras Invitational on Monday at TPC Louisiana.
Sophomore Ken Looper put together rounds of 72-74, putting him in a tie for fifth individually, to make him the low Privateer.
UNO shot rounds of 301-298 and is 10 shots behind second-round leader Southeastern Louisiana, which shot 297 in the morning before closing with a 4-over par 292 in the afternoon.
Mercer's Ryan Blackburn and Campbell's Vaita Guillaume lead the individual race at 2-under par. Blackburn shot 70-72, helping the Bears jump into second place in the 15-team field ? one shot behind SLU.
West Florida, which held the lead after the morning round following an impressive 1-over par 289, is in third place - seven shots behind the Lions.
The tournament will conclude on Tuesday morning.
"We had to take a couple of high numbers today which is unfortunate on a course we are very familiar with," said UNO head coach Chris McCarter. "But we got some good scores as well, and these guys are capable of putting together some great rounds. We're certainly not out of things yet."
Freshman Sebastian Szirmak (tied for ninth individually) shot an even-par 72 in the afternoon round after a 75 in the morning. Jose Toledo (T-19th), who opened with a 77, bounced back with an even-par 72 despite a triple bogey on the par-4 16th.
Oscar Zetterwall (T-52nd) shot 77-80, and Adam Cornelson (T-69th) shot 77-86.
Junior Hector Arias, competing as an individual only, is tied for fifth overall. The Colombia native had a 2-under par 70 after an opening-round 76. Derek East (T-37th) shot 77-77.
Louisiana-Lafayette's Devin Carey had the best round of the day, posting a 4-under par 68 in the afternoon. Troy's Wes Parker tallied a hole-in-one on the par-3 14th.
Fans can attend the two-day event free of charge.
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