GREENSBORO, N.C. – At each of its first four events this season the University of South Alabama men's golf program has climbed multiple spots in the team standings during the final round, and Sunday was no different when the Jaguars concluded the fall campaign.

Behind a career-low-tying 5-under-par from Daniel Jansen, USA posted a 2-under-par 286 total to finish fourth in a field of 13 teams at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate hosted by UNC Greensboro.  The Jags — who entered the last 18 holes tied for seventh — ended the event in front of eight schools who were ranked higher coming into the competition in this week's Golfstat.com ratings.

It marked the third straight event that the Jaguars have recorded a better finish than their previous tournament, and was also USA's best result of the fall.

Michael Garretson, Tyler Klava and Jason Mendel each contributed a 73 on the last day, with all three ending up among the top 30 individually.

"I'm really happy for the guys, that was a great way for the team to close out the fall and head into the offseason," observed Jag head coach Ben Hannan.  "With a field like this you have to play good, solid golf and have everybody in the game.  This team has some depth and talent, and that's what we did as a group today."

North Carolina — the highest-rated team in the field at No. 21 nationally — closed with a 7-under-par 281 group score to take the championship with a 15-under-par 849 total.  Virginia Tech was the runner-up and only other school under par for the event after finishing at 861, with Chattanooga third with an 872 score.  The Jaguars were four shots behind the Mocs and two ahead of Mercer, which rounded out the top five.

Like the Jags, Jansen improved his finish in the individual standings at each of the last three events of the fall culminating with his first top-10 result since joining the program prior to the start of the season.  With a 2-under-par 214 total — the first tournament he has ended up below par over 54 holes in the fall — the junior tied for fifth place.

Opening at the seventh hole of the par-72, 7,245-yard Grandover Resort East Course, he was 2 under through four holes following threes at Nos. 8 and 10.  Jansen tacked on a birdie at the 125-yard 12th as well, and was still at 2-below par for the day when he responded to a pair of bogeys with a three at No. 17.  After returning to the course's front nine, he closed with a four at the second — playing at 535 yards — and back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5.

Jansen was one of four individuals to play the par-four holes under par over the weekend, and he also ranked among the top 10 in the field with a total of 12 birdies.

"Daniel was huge for us.  On a golf course like this and with the competition we were playing against, you have to have somebody go low and his 67 certainly did that for us today," Hannan stated.  "He hit it well all week, but the difference today was he capitalized by making some of the putts following shots he hit close [to the pin]."

Klava posted his second straight top-25 finish and Mendel had the best finish of his career after the duo tied for 22nd place with 54-hole 222 totals.  The former birdied the 12th and 18th in the last round, tying for the tournament lead with a 3 under score on par threes, while the latter had threes on Nos. 8 and 11 and was among the top 15 with 36 pars overall over the weekend.

Garretson also was 3 under on par-three holes, going on to tie for 27th with a 223 three-round score.  The senior began play on No. 10, carding three of his four birdies on his first nine starting with a three on his opening hole.  After a two at the 12th he recorded fours at the 18th and No. 6 with the latter two holes playing at 570 and 555 yards, respectively. 

Rounding out the Jaguar lineup, Matt Sheehan had a 76 over the final 18 holes and a 227 total for three rounds to tie for 48th.  His first birdie on the tournament's last day came on No. 18, and he played the front side of the course at even par after a four at the 415-yard fourth.

UNC's Ben Griffin shot a 67 over the last 18 holes to claim medalist honors with a two-day, 10-under-par 206 total, finishing one shot in front of Scott Vincent from Virginia Tech — the individual leader at the end of the first day — and three ahead of the Hokies' Trevor Cone.

The field included 75 players.

USA will begin the spring season at home with the Mobile Sports Authority Invitational, which is scheduled to be played at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course on Feb. 23-24.

"The biggest thing heading into the offseason will be to go through the evaluation process and have each individual get better at different facets of the game," explained Hannan.  "This is a good team.  I feel like we are continuing to trend the right way and believe that our best golf is ahead of us.

"I'm just really happy for them that they closed out the fall with good back-to-back tournaments and certainly a very strong final 18 [holes] — it leaves you with a positive frame of mind going into the break with the aim of getting better."

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).

—USA—

Bridgestone Golf Collegiate
Grandover Resort East Course, Greensboro, N.C.
Par 72, 7,245 yards
Team Scores: 1) North Carolina 288-280-281—849 (-15); 2) Virginia Tech 286-285-290—861; 3) Chattanooga 298-286-288—872; 4) South Alabama 295-295-286—876; 5) Mercer 293-292-293—878; 6) Virginia Commonwealth 296-294-292—882; T7) Memphis 296-288-300—884; T7) William & Mary 299-293-292—884; 9) UNC Greensboro 306-288-295—889; 10) Georgia State 295-294-304—893; 11) Purdue 304-294-298—896; 12) Marquette 301-303-298—902; 13) Notre Dame 305-295-303—903.

Individual Leaders: 1) Ben Griffin, UNC 74-65-67—206 (-10); 2) Scott Vincent, VT 66-69-72—207; 3) Trevor Cone, VT 72-69-68—209; 4) William Register, UNC 69-70-71—210; T5) Daniel Jansen, USA 73-74-67—214; T5) Austin Eoff, Pur 75-69-70—214; T5) Andrew Weathers, UTC 71-68-75—214; T8) Cory Gaylord, Mem 73-70-72—215; T8) Charlie Kern, W&M 72-71-72—215; T10) Trey Rule, Mer 72-69-75—216; T10) Emmanuel Kountakis, Mer 74-70-72—216.

South Alabama Scores: T5) Daniel Jansen 73-74-67—214 (-2); T22) Tyler Klava 76-73-73—222; T22) Jason Mendel 70-79-73—222; T27) Michael Garretson 77-73-73—223; T48) Matt Sheehan 76-75-76—227.