BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Chris Piumelli carded an even-par 70 Tuesday, his lowest round of the season, to lead the University of South Alabama men’s golf team on the final day of Alabama’s Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.

The effort helped the Jaguars record a 287 team total in the final round, as they would place fourth in the field of 12 teams — finishing ahead of three schools in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin top 100 in the process — with a 54-hole score of 859.

Piumelli recorded a team-leading five birdies at the 7,204-yard, par-70 Old Overton Country Club, keyed by a stretch of three straight on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes.  He was as low as 2-under par during the round after posting a three at the par-four first hole and another birdie on No. 4.

Both Blake Kelley and McLain Leberte shot a 72 over the final 18 holes.  Kelley’s lone birdie of the round came on the par-four 318-yard 15th, a hole Leberte birdied as well.  Leberte also had a birdie the previous hole — one of his four on the day — to play the back nine 1-under par and finish with his lowest score of the season.

Jack Hiluta opened with birdies on two of the first four holes in the last round, adding another on No. 18 for a 73.  He too had four birdies on the final day of the event.

Christian Blanchet added a 74, with birdies on the third and sixth holes moving him to 2-under par on the front side.  His final birdie of the round came on No. 15, a par-four hole that four out of five Jags scored a three on in the last round.

“This week was a culmination of some great golf sprinkled with a few mistakes,” observed Jaguar head coach Ben Hannan.  “When there were a group of teams bunched together — us, UNLV, Memphis and Mississippi State — the guys kept their heads down and continued to grind; they played well down the stretch to close with our best finish of the year.”

Hiluta had a three-round 213 total to lead the quintet, finishing 12th, while Kelley was tied for 13th place one shot behind him.  Blanchet came in a tie for 21st with a 217 54-hole score, with Leberte two strokes behind him in a tie for 26th and Piumelli ending up tied for 28th place one shot in back of Leberte.

No. 23 Auburn shot a 7-under-par 273 as a team — the low round of the week — to overcome a two-stroke deficit and claim the team championship with an 11-under-par 829 54-hole score.  Top-ranked Florida was second at 836, with the Crimson Tide two shots behind the Gators.  Niclas Carlsson of Auburn was the medalist, recording an even-par 70 over the last 18 holes for an 8-under-par 202 and two-stroke victory over Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt.

“There is no question when these guys play well we can compete with a lot of teams in the country,” Hannan stated.  “We are going to work on eliminating some of the mistakes and continuing to get better.  I’m certainly pleased with the outcome this week, and look for us to move forward against another great field at LSU.”

The Jaguars will compete again next week at the David Toms Intercollegiate, hosted by Louisiana State, on Monday and Tuesday.

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

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Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
Old Overton Country Club, Birmingham, Ala.
Par 70, 7,204 yards
Team Scores: 1) Auburn 275-281-273—829 (-11); 2) Florida 278-276-282—836; 3) Alabama 281-278-279—838; 4) South Alabama 287-285-287—859; 5) UNLV 279-293-294—866; 6) Memphis 299-284-284—867; 7) Mississippi State 296-286-290—872; 8) SMU 296-294-289—879; 9) UAB 289-297-297—883; 10) Southern Mississippi 296-299-302—897; 11) Georgia State 303-295-305—903; 12) Samford 298-298-311—907.

Individual Leaders: 1) Niclas Carlsson, Aub 64-68-70—202 (-8); 2) Bobby Wyatt, Bama 64-69-71—204; 3) Tyler McCumber, UF 70-65-70—205; 4) Michael Hebert, Aub 70-70-67—207; T5) Blayne Barber, Aub 68-74-66—208; T5) Bank Vongvanij, UF 66-71-71—208; 7) Bud Cauley, Bama 74-66-69—209; 8) Kelly Kraft, SMU 71-70-69—210; 9) Phillip Choi, UF 70-68-73—211; T10) Derek Ernst. UNLV 66-75-71—212; T10) Jonathan Fly, Mem 73-72-67—212.

South Alabama Scores: 12) Jack Hiluta 72-68-73—213 (+3); T13) Blake Kelley 70-72-72—214; T21) Christian Blanchet 72-71-74—217; T26) McLain Leberte 73-74-72—219; T28) Chris Piumelli 74-76-70—220.