MOBILE, Ala. - Familiar faces will dot the lineup for the University of South Alabama men's golf team when it returns to action tomorrow at the Squire Creek Intercollegiate.
Four of the five Jaguars who will tee off at the par-72, 7,105-yard Squire Creek Country Club competed at the season-opening Mason Rudolph Invitational, including a pair of veterans who shot even par last weekend.
"I think it's a huge advantage for the four who were able to play last week," Jag head coach Ben Hannan commented. "Most of the teams we faced had already played one or two events prior to Vanderbilt, so playing last week will be very beneficial for the guys heading into Louisiana Tech's tournament."
Both Marc-Etienne Bussieres and Jack Hiluta carded a 142 total over 36 holes at Vanderbilt's tournament to finish in a tie for 21st out of 88 players. Bussieres, who fired a 2-under-par 69 on the first day of the event, has shot even par or better on 12 occasions in fall tournaments dating back to the start of his sophomore season. After leading USA with a 1-under-par 70 to close out the Mason Rudolph, Hiluta has finished at or below par in eight of 13 fall rounds since the beginning of last year.
Christian Blanchet and Chris Piumelli will be playing in their second straight event. Piumelli matched Bussieres with a 69 in the first round last weekend, ending up tied for 40th with a two-day score of 145 in his Jaguar debut. Blanchet - who was also playing for the first time at the Division I level - finished three shots behind Piumelli, which included carding a 72 on the first day.
The lone newcomer this week will be freshman Blake Kelley, who helped lead Mandeville (La.) High School to back-to-back Division 1 (5A) state championships. He earned first-team all-state, all-region and all-district honors after leading the team in scoring average last spring.
Garth Boyd, who sat out as a redshirt last season, will also be competing as an individual at the Squire Creek Intercollegiate. It will mark his collegiate debut as well, although he has extensive amateur experience in Europe.
"I always expect that we will show improvement from one tournament to the next," said Hannan. "I would like to see Marc and Jack start to step it up, as well as Christian and Chris. All four of those guys have shown the ability to play at a very high level and shoot low scores. In order for us to have a chance to score well as a team, they have to do their job.
"Blake will be going back home to Louisiana, he will have a lot of family there," he continued. "he's been playing great at home, I think he will play very well. I'm excited to watch."
Bussieres was the Jaguars' top finisher at last year's Squire Creek Invitational, posting a 3-over-par 219 total over the two days to tie for 30th place - he ended the tournament with a 72 in each of the last two rounds. In 2006, USA's Jonny Caldwell earned medalist honors at the rain-shortened event after carding a 67 in the only round of competition, helping the Jags come in fifth out of 18 teams.
USA will be competing against six Sun Belt Conference schools - UALR, Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee, New Orleans, North Texas and Troy - in this season's field. In addition to host Louisiana Tech, which will send out two teams, Jacksonville State, UNC Greensboro, Rice, Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Mississippi and Stephen F. Austin will round out the field. Louisiana State will also be sending individuals.
Middle Tennessee is 33rd in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings released Thursday, the highest ranked team in the event. Rice comes in at No. 47, ASU is 69th, SLU ranks 85th and UNCG is No. 87 entering play.
Action will begin Monday with an 8 a.m. shotgun start, with 36 holes scheduled, while play is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. for the final round 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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