The Book: Ragin' Cajuns Golf 2006-07 Sun Belt Champs

[Turbine]

3rd, 2nd, 1st

It can't get much funner than that in the world of collegiate tournament golf.

Now an auto bid to the NCAA's

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ORLANDO, Fla.-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns golf team needed more than 18 holes on the final day to claim their first Sun Belt Conference Golf Championship in 10 years. The Cajuns edged Middle Tennessee in a playoff to claim the 2007 SBC Tournament. The win marks the third Sun Belt Conference title for the Cajuns. The Cajuns also won the Sun Belt in 1993 and 1997. In the 10 years since the Cajuns have won their last championship, UL has finished either second or third five times. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to win,” head coach Bob Bass commented on his team’s first conference championship since 1997. “It has been almost 10 years since my last victory and we have been close for a couple of years coming in second by one stroke just two years ago. “This bunch of guys has been working hard to get better and get tougher,” Bass added. “It has paid off for them and I couldn’t be happier.” The Cajuns opened the tournament in a tie for third place with Denver. After the first round, UL saw themselves trailing the leader New Orleans by 12 strokes after carding a team score of 297. The Ragin’ Cajuns trimmed the UNO lead to just five strokes after a second round team score of 290. UL’s second round effort lifted the Cajuns into sole possession of second place. The Cajuns lowered their team score eight more strokes on the final round to card 282 as a team. The six-under par score combined with a round of even par for the Privateers lifted the Cajuns over UNO on the leaderboard. However, a seven-under par score from Middle Tennessee forced a playoff between the Cajuns and the Blue Raiders. The rest of the story Chris WhiteHead RaginCajuns.com

[Turbine]

_ Congrats to the Ragin' Cajuns whose 284 was the lowest for the final round.

I see glimpses of being very good. Hopefully they can put it all together for the Sun Belt tournament. _

For some reason I could tell they were heating up.

Counting the last round before the SB tourney this team is on fire.

Congrats on a great regular season, a Sun Belt Championship and continued success in the NCAA's

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UL's golf team was the picture of frustration two years ago when the Ragin' Cajuns had the Sun Belt Conference title pulled from under their spikes by a late South Ala-bama charge. Michael Smith remembered the feeling of that one-stroke loss well when he stood over an eight-foot birdie putt during a sudden-death playoff for the league title Wednesday. "When we lost by one my freshman year, it hurt a lot," Smith said. Smith made sure he and his teammates wouldn't feel that way again, rolling in a birdie on the par-four playoff hole Wednesday. That putt, and clinching par putts by Peter Badawy and Justin Lowe, gave the Cajuns their first Sun Belt title since 1997 with a playoff vicory over Middle Tennessee at the Walt Disney World's Magnolia course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[Choppie29]

The team has been working hard. It is nice to see them put up some low numbers that are reflective of the talent that they have on the team.

Congratulations and let's keep it going in the NCAA's.

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ORLANDO – Denver’s women and Louisiana-Lafayette’s men picked up the championship trophies at the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships on Wednesday afternoon. The Pioneer women shot a three round total of 829 (+29) to take the women’s crown. The team fired a 297 on Wednesday to keep runner-up Florida International at bay, who shot a tournament best 293. FIU finished +42 over and was led by Maria Hernandez who finished in third with a 223, seven-over par. Freshman Stephanie Sherlock was the individual winner of the women’s tournament, shooting three-over par (219) to earn an All-Conference automatic selection. Sherlock was also named the Freshman of the Year. Teammates Emily Hoeper (+6, 222) and Katie Kempter (+8, 224) also joined Sherlock on the All-Conference team. All three Pioneers finished in the top five at the tournament. The men’s race was much closer and came down to a two-team playoff between ULL and Middle Tennessee. Last year’s tournament came down to a three-team playoff with WKU prevailing. Both teams started on the one hole and that is where it would finish. ULL made a birdie putt to give them the 2007 team title. The Ragin’ Cajuns were led by Peter Badawy who finished in second place after shooting a third round 69. Badawy finished four-under par for the tournament. The rest of the story

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The UL golf team didn't care much about the travel inconvenience last week. So what if the Ragin' Cajuns missed their flight home because of a playoff? The plane might have been overweight, anyway - it had to carry an unexpected conference championship trophy. "We didn't mind being delayed for a night," Cajun coach Bob Bass said after his squad captured its first Sun Belt Conference title in a decade last Wednesday. "It gave us a chance to celebrate a little bit." The Cajuns made up five strokes on front-running New Orleans (in fact, 12 over the final two rounds) and survived a sudden-death playoff with Middle Tennessee to claim the league crown at Walt Disney World's Magnolia course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The playoff kept UL from making its flight connections home, but the team arrived back in Lafayette one day later and a lot happier than its most recent conference tournament trips. The win also extended the Cajuns' season. UL, with little chance of gaining an at-large bid to the NCAA regional tournament, claimed the league's automatic berth and is bound for the May 17-19 regionals. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[BurninCayenne]

Nice to see a brite spot in the UL program. Geaux-Cajuns

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NEW ORLEANS-The Sun Belt Conference announced their 2007 All-Sun Belt Conference selections and Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns golf team had two players named to the team. Senior Peter Badawy and junior Justin Lowe were both named All-Conference based on their top-10 performances in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Badawy and Lowe helped the Ragin’ Cajuns to their first Sun Belt Conference title in 10 years. Badawy finished the tournament with a pair of three-under par rounds of 69 to finish four-under par for the tournament and claim second place overall. Lowe improved his scorecard two strokes each round to finish the tournament at even par. His final round score of 70 helped the Pineville native to a tie for sixth place. The duo also earned all-conference honors during the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Lowe finished that tournament at even par to finish in fourth place, while Badawy finished one stroke over par to tie for fifth. Badawy and Lowe were two of eight automatic all-conference selections. The rest of the story Chris Whitehead RaginCajuns.com