UL's golf team departs today for its first NCAA Tournament appearance in six seasons, but members of the Ragin' Cajun squad have been doing a lot more than just preparing for the regional outing.

Senior Peter Badawy and junior Michael Smith both played in U.S. Open local qualifying tournaments Monday, Smith playing near Destin, Fla., and Badawy in the Washington, D.C. area. Both were scheduled to arrive back in Lafayette late Monday night to prepare for today's departure for Atlanta.

UL will open play in the NCAA East Regional tournament Thursday at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga., joining a 27-team field that will qualify 10 teams for the NCAA national meet May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.

"A lot of these guys have been busy with a lot of things," said Cajun coach Bob Bass. "Most of them had finals right up until Friday and some of them have been in qualifying for some other tournaments. We were able to get in some practice over the weekend."

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com