HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After winning the inaugural event a year ago, the University of South Alabama men's golf team will look to repeat as champions Saturday at the Southern Collegiate Match Play.

The tournament will once again be hosted by Southern Mississippi at the Hattiesburg Country Club.  The semifinals are set to get underway at 8 a.m. (CDT), while the final matches will tee off at 12:30 p.m. (consolation) and 1:05 p.m. (championship).

Competing for the Jaguars will be Rasmus Karlsson, Jason Mendel, Brooks Rabren, Yannick Schütz and Peter Staalbo.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Southern Collegiate Match Play (Southern Mississippi)
Date: 4/7 (Saturday)
Start times: 8 a.m. (CDT) start for the semifinals, 12:30 p.m. start for the consolation/championship
Course: Hattiesburg Country Club (par 71, 6,902 yds)
Live scoring: n/a

THE FIELD (4)
Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi

THE JAGUAR LINEUP
-Rasmus Karlsson (So., Fiskars, Finland; 24 rds, 73.92 avg, 1 T10; 66 low 18, 208 low 54; 8 rds =/- par)
-Jason Mendel (Sr., Norcross, Ga.; 18 rds, 74.11 avg, 67 low 18, 217 low 54; 3 rds =/- par)
-Brooks Rabren (Jr., Andalusia, Ala.; 21 rds, 73.67 avg, 1 T10, 68 low 18, 212 low 54; 9 rds =/- par)
-Yannick Schütz (So., Friolzheim, Germany; 18 rds, 71.61 avg, 4 T20, 67 low 2 18, 210 low 54; 9 rds =/- par)
-Peter Staalbo (Jr., Lejre, Denmark; 19 rds, 76.89 avg, 1 T20; 69 low 18, 216 low 54; 2 rds =/- par)

TEE SHOTS
-The format for the event will feature the Jaguars facing Louisiana in the semifinals while Southern Miss will take on Louisiana Tech.
-Every individual scheduled to play this weekend except Schütz was in the lineup last spring as South defeated the Ragin's Cajuns 4-1 in the semifinals before picking up a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs to claim the inaugural championship.
-Mendel and Karlsson both went 2-0 at the event last spring, with the former clinching the morning match with a tap-in par for a 1-up win on the 18th hole.
-The Jags won three of four matches in the semifinals against ULL by a 1-up margin, with Rabren providing an early 1-0 advantage following his victory in the opening pairing.
-Staalbo clinched the championship match over LA Tech with a 4 & 2 win in the last group after Karlsson drew the Jags even with a 4 & 3 victory.
-Mendel has a career 2-1-1 match-play record at South, as both he and Staalbo have competed in a team-high four matches at three different events.
-Although Schütz was not in the lineup at this tournament last year, he did halve his match against Jacksonville at the Bridgestone Match Play in September 2016.
-It's the second time this season the Jags will compete at the Hattiesburg Country Club after opening the campaign at Southern Miss' Sam Hall Intercollegiate.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On preparing for match play: "Following our trip to California we've been trying to put our efforts into putting and pitching distances during our block practices, and in preparation for this event we started to have some head-to-head match-play competitions as well.  Match play is a different format, but it is fun and the guys have all played it at some point during their careers so they are comfortable with it."
On expectations for Saturday: "Match play is such a different type of format, at this level there is really no favorite — anybody can beat any other player on any given day.  The focus is to have a bunch of opportunities by putting the ball in the right position off the tee and on the green, and then hopefully executing when you get those chances.  Because of the format you worry about the guy across from you, and that sometimes will dictate choices in shot selection in the middle of a round; that's different from your normal stroke-play event.  The guys had good success here last year, they are looking forward to this event.  Hopefully it can be a springboard for the [Sun Belt] conference championship."

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.

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