MOBILE, Ala. - University of South Alabama junior men's golfer Jack Hiluta fired a 1-under-par 71 Tuesday - his third straight round of par or better this week - to earn his first career collegiate victory at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate hosted by the Jaguars at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course.
Hiluta made up three shots over the final 18 holes on Middle Tennessee's Kent Bulle, the leader after each of the first two days of the tournament, as the two shared medalist honors with a three-round total of 3-under-par 213.
Playing in the same group as Bulle, Hiluta made his move on the back nine of the par-72, 7,212-yard course. He recorded back-to-back threes on the 417-yard 10th and 398-yard 11th holes, and after a par he picked up another birdie at the par five 13th.
Hiluta ended the event tied for fourth in the field of 102 players with 11 birdies, and he was also in the top 10 with 37 pars.
Chris Piumelli carded his second straight 74 to move up 16 spots in the final standings into a tie for 52nd, while Marc-Etienne Bussieres finished tied for 14th despite a final-round 77 - he posted a 54-hole score of 220. David Leathem had a 76 over the last 18 holes, and Chris Bockstael rounded out the lineup with a 77.
Leathem tied for 46th with a 227 total, Piumelli was tied for 52nd at 228 and Bockstael was three shots behind the latter.
Christian Blanchet led a quartet of Jags playing as individuals, tying for 41st place with a total of 226 after a final-round 78. Blake Kelley and Garth Boyd each had a three-round score of 233 after shooting 79 and 81, respectively, with McLain Leberte posting a 237 score for the tournament.
The Jaguars shot a 298 as a team, tying for sixth with defending champion Mississippi State after both squads recorded a 886 score over the three days.
USA will return to action March 5 when it takes part in the USF Invitational in Dade City, Fla.
"Jack had a fantastic tournament. From the opening tee shot he was in complete control of his game," commented USA head coach Ben Hannan. "He had very few bogeys all week, and with the difficulty of the course and the conditions it was tremendous golf.
"As a team, we finished sixth in a very good field. The guys had a great round going through 16 holes, but unfortunately weren't able to close which let some teams get back ahead of us. All in all, I was very pleased since it was the first event of the spring. Certainly we have some positives to look at coming out of this, which we can build on moving forward as we get ready to compete in South Florida."
Mississippi held on to win the event with a 13-over-par 877 total despite shooting a 301 on the final day, besting Illinois State by one stroke. The Redbirds' 292 team score was the best in the last round.
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).
-USA-
Mobile Bay Intercollegiate
Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course, Mobile, Ala.
Par 72, 7,212 yards
Team Scores: 1) Mississippi 291-285-301-877 (+13); 2) Illinois State 293-293-292-878; 3) Louisville 299-286-294-879; 4) Vanderbilt 290-295-297-882; 5) Middle Tennessee 293-294-298-885; T6) South Alabama 295-293-298-886; T6) Mississippi State 297-293-296-886; 8) Memphis 291-291-305-887; 9) Iowa State 296-289-303-888; 10) Arkansas State 305-296-295-896; 11) Kentucky 307-297-297-901; 12) Akron 309-289-309-907; T13) Kennesaw State 300-303-305-908; T13) Jacksonville 310-296-302-908; 12) Toledo 304-298-308-910; 16) Southern Mississippi 306-301-305-912; 17) South Florida 305-303-312-920; 18) Belmont 310-299-313-922.
Individual Leaders: T1) Jack HIluta, USA 70-72-71-213 (-3); Kent Bulle, MT 67-72-74-213; T3) Jeff Kellen, IlSt 70-71-74-215; Chris Biuso, UofL 71-73-71-215; Jonathan Randolph, Miss 71-72-72-215; T6) Robi Calvesbert, MissSt 75-70-71-216; Nate McCoy, IoSt 70-71-75-216; Joe David, Miss 72-69-75-216; T9) Hudson Johnson, VU 72-75-70-217; Trey DelGreco, VU 70-7275-217.
South Alabama Scores: T1) Jack Hiluta 70-72-71-213 (-3); T14) Marc-Etienne Bussieres 71-72-77-220; T41) Christian Blanchet* 78-70-78-226; T46) David Leathem 75-76-76-227; T52) Chris Piumelli 80-74-74-228; T69) Chris Bockstael 79-75-77-231; T76) Garth Boyd* 78-74-81-233; T76) Blake Kelley* 79-75-79-233; 93) McLain Leberte* 81-77-79-237.
Denotes competing as an individual
