DENTON, Texas - Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns golf team opened up the 2008-09 golf season with two rounds at the Mean Green Classic at the Lantana Golf Club in Denton, Texas. Despite steady rain in the final holes of the second round, the Cajuns improved 10-strokes from round one to round two to finish the day in fourth place.

The Cajuns stumbled in the first round of the season, carding a team score of 298. Despite a pair of sub-par rounds, UL finished the opening round 10-strokes over par. Although the Cajuns did not have the start they anticipated, UL finished round one in a tie for fifth place with tournament-host North Texas.

Louisiana rebounded in the second round posting an even par team score of 288. The Cajuns battled inclement weather during the second round, but still managed to shave 10-strokes off of their team score.

The Ragin’ Cajuns were led by senior Devin Carrey, who tied for fourth at the conclusion of day one.

He posted an opening round score of two-under par and followed that with an even par round of 72. In the seven total rounds he has played at the Mean Green Classic, Carrey had posted five rounds of par or better and has never carded a round over a 74.

Carrey was solid in the first round. He paced all UL players with a two-under par round of 70. The senior leader birdied four of the final six holes in his first round of the day to finish below par.

In his second round, Carrey erased two bogeys with a pair of birdies for an even par round of 72.

Freshman Andrew Noto, playing in his first collegiate tournament, finished the day at one-over par with a two-round score of 145. The true freshman rebounded from an opening round of 77 to post the Cajuns’ low score of the day. Noto’s four-under par round of 68 moved him into 10th place. Noto birdied the last hole of the afternoon, hitting a key shot out of a divot.

Senior Dustin Petit was third among the Cajuns with a three-over par performance. Petit joined Carrey as the only other Cajun to finish the first round below par. He started strong, but tapered off towards the end of the round. Although he gave some strokes back, Petit managed to turn in his first sub-par round of the year with a one-under par 71. In the second round, Petit shot a four-over par 76 to finish the day in 20th place.

Rounding out the scoring for the Cajuns were freshman Philipp Fendt and junior Mark Brockhurst. The duo struggled in their opening rounds, both carding rounds of 80 or higher. Fendt and Brockhurst both rebounded in the second round to shoot 73 and 75, respectively.

Thomas Disch competed for the Cajuns as an individual. Disch was solid in both rounds on the day. In his opening round, Disch finished four-over par with a 76. He shaved a stroke off of his score in the second round for a 75.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will conclude play in the 2008 Mean Green Classic on Tuesday.

RaginCajuns.com

Chris Whitehead