SANDESTIN, Fla. – Jason Mendel led the University of South Alabama men's golf team after recording an even-par 71 in the final round of stroke play at the Sun Belt Conference Championship Monday, and with it earned a top-15 result in the individual standings.

The junior — who also had a 73 in concluding the second round, which was not completed on Sunday due to weather issues — closed out the season with a 4-over-par 217 54-hole total, tying for 13th place.  It was his team-best 11th round of par or better on the year, while he tied Rasmus Karlsson with his fifth top-20 performance of the campaign.

"Jason played solid golf all week long, it was good to see," Jaguar head coach Alex Hamilton said.  "He is a good player and he fights for every shot.  He didn't have his swing for much of the day yesterday but was able to grind it out and keep it close to par, and today — when the wind wasn't supposed to blow but it did, and the scores were not what I expected — Jason was able to grind out a really good score.  That was good to see."

Drew Cooke just missed a top-20 finish, ending up in a tie for 21st two shots in back of Mendel after posting scores of 73 and 74 on Monday.  Brooks Rabren matched Mendel with a 71 over the last 18 holes, and in the process tied Karlsson for 28th place individually as both recorded totals of 221, while Peter Staalbo finished with a 54-hole 230 score.

Troy earned the top seed in Tuesday's match-play segment of the tournament, posting a 3-over-par 855 54-hole score to finish nine strokes in front of Georgia Southern.  Arkansas State and Georgia State tied for third among the 12 schools in the field with 872 totals, with the Panthers slated to face the Trojans in one semifinal — a rematch of last year's championship match — and the Red Wolves taking on the Eagles in the other.

With an 874 total over two days, the Jaguars finished one shot in back of fifth-place Texas State while missing a playoff for match play by just two strokes.  USA finished the second round with 295 group score, lowering that total by four in the final round, as seven teams were within a six-stroke margin for the final two spots in the semifinals.

"I thought for the most part that the guys responded really well to what was in front of them today," said Hamilton.  "We got off to an okay start this morning, but responded pretty well at the start of the third round; we actually had a really good chance to make it [to match play], but just weren't able to finish strong over the last few holes.  Unfortunately that's been our issue often this year."

Mendel recorded four birdies in the final round at the par-71, 6,860-yard Sandestin Golf Resort Raven Course, equaling his total over the previous 36 holes.  He was 2 under after three holes, posting a three at the 389-yard first and adding a birdie at No. 3, while on the back nine Mendel had a two at No. 12 and a three on the 15th hole, playing at 298 yards.  In addition to birdying the first in the second round, he had a two on the 158-yard eighth.

Cooke's second round included six pars in a row to start before a four on No. 7, a 631-yard par five.  After making the turn 1 under, the senior added four birdies; the first was at the 10th, and he added three straight starting at No. 15.  Over the final 18 holes, all three of his birdies came on par fours — at the first, ninth and 10th — as he played the final nine holes of his collegiate career at even par.

Rabren was 3 over through 10 holes in the last round, but he responded back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 — playing at 562 and 130 yards, respectively — as well as the 17th to play the course's back side 2-under par while recording his seventh round at or below par on the year.  The sophomore had threes on the fifth and 14th holes, as well as a four on No. 7, while posting a second-round 75.

Karlsson had scores of 74 and 75 over the last 36 holes of the event to close out his freshman campaign.  He had a two on No. 12 both times around the course, using threes to card birdies on the fifth and 15th holes in the second round as well as a birdie at the seven in the third.

Staalbo opened the tournament with an even-par 71, following up with scores of 76 and 83 in the two rounds completed on Monday.  After beginning the second 18 holes with a three at the first, he added birdies on Nos. 15 and 17, while the sophomore posted a four on the 562-yard 11th and a two at No. 16, a 228-yard par three, in going 2 over on the back nine the last round.

There was a four-way tie for first place in the individual standings, with GS's Steven Fisk claiming medalist honors on the first hole of a playoff.  He carded a 3-under-par three-round score, tying with teammate Jake Storey, Luis Ruiz of Coastal Carolina and Troy's Clay Vannoy; fellow Trojan Jared Bettcher was the only other player among the 60 individuals to break par over two days, carding a 211 total.

The Jaguars conclude the 2016-17 season, their first under the direction of Hamilton, with five top-five performances while placing among the top 10 in all but the opening event of the year.

"I think we had a moderately productive year," Hamilton observed.  "We definitely accomplished some things and played well at times, but we really had a lot of chances to have some strong finishes but were not able to get over that last hurdle.  That can happen sometimes with a young team, hopefully we can get over that hurdle next year.  If you look at the whole season, we were very, very close to numerous good finishes, we have to take that next step next which would mean some really good things for the program."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Birdie Club — the men's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Birdie Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/birdieclub.

—USA—

Sun Belt Conference Championship
Sandestin Golf Resort Raven Course, Sandestin, Fla.
Par 71, 6,860 yards
Team Scores: Team Scores: 1) Troy 284-282-289—855 (+3); 2) Georgia Southern 285-291-288—864; T3) Arkansas State 292-287-293—872; T3) Georgia State 278-301-293—872; 5) Texas State 292-291-290—873; 6) South Alabama 288-295-291—874; 7) Coastal Carolina 290-296-289—875; 8) Little Rock 301-289-286—876; 9) Louisiana-Monroe 301-285-292—878; 10) Louisiana-Lafayette 296-297-290—883; 11) Texas-Arlington 297-299-292—888; 12) Appalachian State 297-304-298—899.

Individual Leaders: 1) *Steven Fisk, GS 66-70-74—210 (-3); T2) Luis Ruiz, CCU 71-72-67—210; T2) Jake Storey, GS 68-71-71—210; T2) Clay Vannoy, Troy 72-70-68—210; 5) Jared Bettcher, Troy 73-67-71—211; T6) Guillaume Fanonnel, ULM 72-72-69—215; T6) Tanner Napier, ASU 72-72-71—215; T6) Calum Masters, Troy 68-72-75—215; T6) Nathan Mallonee, GSU 68-76-71—215; T10) three individuals with 216.
*denotes won in a playoff

South Alabama Scores: T13) Jason Mendel 73-73-71—217 (+4); T21) Drew Cooke 72-73-74—219; T28) Brooks Rabren 75-75-71—221; T28) Rasmus Karlsson 72-74-75—221; T47) Peter Staalbo 71-76-83—230.