HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Jason Mendel and Rasmus Karlsson each won two individual matches on Saturday, helping lead the University of South Alabama men's golf team to the championship of the Southern Collegiate Match Play hosted by Southern Mississippi.

The Jaguars defeated fellow Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-1, in the semifinals in the morning, then returned after lunch to earn a 3-2 victory over Louisiana Tech in the championship match.

"I think it was a great day for us," said USA head coach Alex Hamilton.  "We had a lot of really close matches in the morning, winning four matches by 2 up or less, and in the afternoon it was a completely different story.  To have the last three guys play the way they did, that was really exciting to see; they all played some great golf down the stretch, they knew exactly where they stood and were able to come through in the clutch."

In the finals at the par-71, 6,902-yard Hattiesburg Country Club, Mendel posted the first point for the Jags after earning a 6 & 5 victory over the Bulldogs' Karsten Green.  He won the first hole and never trailed in the match after that point, extending to a 3 up advantage after claiming both the fifth and six holes.  Mendel made the turn 4 up with an eagle on the 462-yard ninth, winning Nos. 11 and 12 as well before a par on the following hole ended the match.

Karlsson also did not drop a hole in the championship in a 4 & 3 defeat of Hunter Glenn.  The two were all square through three until the freshman won Nos. 4 and 5 with pars to go 2 up, a lead he would maintain until the 198-yard 11th.  Karlsson parred that hole and birdied the next, sealing the victory with three consecutive pars.

That made the score 2-2 in the championship, setting up Peter Staalbo's 4 & 2 win over John Lewis Sams that gave USA the title.  Staalbo won No. 1 to take an early lead in the match, but fell to 1 down after the Tech senior carded threes on the second and fourth holes.  With wins on three of the next four holes, however, Staalbo took a 2 up lead to the back nine.

Sams halved the deficit following a birdie on No. 11, but Staalbo won three straight holes starting on the 14th — playing at 367 yards — to clinch the victory.

Drew Cooke fell 3 & 1 to Felix Palson in the finals despite carding seven birdies and an eagle.  The eagle, which came on the 550-yard third, evened the matchup, but Palson took the next two holes to regain the lead.  Cooke was still 2 down coming to No. 8, and though he would birdie six of the next seven holes the score remained the same before Palson closed with a birdie on the 17th.

Brooks Rabren, playing in the first match, dropped each of the first three holes to Joacim Ahlund, getting back to 1 down after wins on Nos. 4 and 5.  After the two halved the next hole, Ahlund would claim three straight holes to go 4 up making the turn, adding wins on Nos. 11 and 12 en route to a 6 & 5 victory.

In the semifinals against the Ragin' Cajuns, Rabren did not take his first lead against Triston Elston until the eighth, with the two trading wins on each of the next four holes.  He claimed Nos. 14 and 15 to move to 3 up, but had to withstand a rally before earning a 1 up win with a par on the 18th hole.

Cooke's lone win on the front nine came at the opening hole, with the senior going 3 down to Thomas Strandemo heading into the turn after dropping both Nos. 8 and 9.  But he recovered by earning each of the next three holes to square the match, and after the two halved four holes in a row Cooke carded a birdie on the 416-yard fourth to regain the lead before giving the Jaguars a 2-0 advantage with a par on No. 17 for a 2 & 1 decision.

Fernando Cruz Valle cut ULL's deficit in half with a 4 & 3 victory over Staalbo.  After USA went 1 up on No. 1, the Ragin Cajuns evened the pairing with an eagle at the third then went ahead for the first time on No. 6.  Cruz Valle also won the ninth and 10th holes to go 3 up, and after Staalbo birdied the 12th to win the hole he used birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 to close out the match.

Each of the last two pairings came down to the final hole.  Mendel was ahead of Ragnar Gardarsson through the first 12 holes — going 2 up on Nos. 3 and 6 — until the latter claimed both the 12th and 13th holes for a 1 up advantage.  The junior recorded consecutive fours, with the second coming on the 523-yard 17th hole to regain the lead, before closing out the 1 up win with a tap-in par on No. 18.  Karlsson also did not trail before making the turn, and each time the freshman fell behind Aron Juliusson he answered by winning the next hole on the 11th and 13th to keep the match all square.  He went back up on No. 16, and after a ULL birdie on the 17th Karlsson parred the following hole to secure a 1 up victory.

"For all four teams here, our goal was to get some exposure to match play since that's how our conference championships are going to be determined," explained Hamilton.  "We wanted these kids to feel the pressure, and fortunately our kids came out on top this week.  Winning a tournament going into the Sun Belt Tournament is great, especially to do it in a match play format very similar to today — with 36 holes in one day — that will determine our conference championship."

The Sun Belt Conference Championship will get underway in Sandestin, Fla., on Sunday, April 23.

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—

Southern Collegiate Match Play
Hattiesburg Country Club, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Par 71, 6,902 yards
Semifinal Match: South Alabama def. Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-1 
No. 1: Brooks Rabren (USA) def. Triston Elston (ULL), 1 up
No. 2: Drew Cooke (USA) def. Thomas Strandemo (ULL), 2 & 1
No. 3: Jason Mendel (USA) def. Ragnar Gardarsson (ULL), 1 up 
No. 4: Rasmus Karlsson (USA) def. Aron Juliusson (ULL), 1 up
No. 5: Fernando Cruz Valle (ULL) def. Peter Staalbo (USA), 4 & 3

Final Match: South Alabama def. Louisiana Tech, 3-2
No. 1: Joacim Ahlund (Tech) def. Brooks Rabren (USA), 6 & 5
No. 2: Felix Palson (Tech) def. Drew Cooke (USA), 3 & 1
No. 3: Jason Mendel (USA) def. Karsten Green (Tech), 6 & 5
No. 4: Rasmus Karlsson (USA) def. Hunter Glenn (Tech), 4 & 3
No. 5: Peter Staalbo (USA) def. John Lewis Sams (Tech), 4 & 2