April 21, 2004

MAGNOLIA, Texas - The UTA men's golf team jumped one spot and finished in a fourth place tie at the 41st-annual Southland Conference men's golf championship at the High Meadow Ranch Golf Club Wednesday.

The Mavericks played steady through the three-day event shooting rounds of 292, 295 and 293 to finish 16-over-par 880. Bryan Vahlberg hit a 30-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the team sudden-death playoff to give the University of Louisiana at Monroe its first-ever title. The Indians won the playoff over three-time defending champion Lamar. With the win, ULM receives the Southland's automatic berth into next month's NCAA Golf Championship. Lamar must wait until the May 10 NCAA selection date to see if it will receive an at-large berth into the postseason.

In the Southland's sudden-death format, all five players for both teams started on hole No. 1, a 388-yard par 4, with the top four scores from each team combined for the team's score. Lamar finished even par on the hole while Vahlberg's putt placed the Indians at minus-1 for the win.

It marks the third time in the 41-year history of the Southland Conference championship for two teams to be tied after regulation play. The first was in 1977 when McNeese State defeated then-member Louisiana-Lafayette in a playoff. In 1999, Stephen F. Austin and UTA finished tied and were declared co-champions as a playoff was not conducted.

Southeastern Louisiana shot the final day's best round of 284 to jump from seventh place to third, eight strokes behind ULM and LU at 877. UTA and Texas State were next at 880. Texas-San Antonio, Tuesday's co-leader, fell apart on the final day with a 303 and finished sixth with an 882. Sam Houston State (885), Stephen F. Austin (886), McNeese State (898) and Nicholls State (918) rounded out the 10-team field.

Individually, UTA's Mordt finished the 54-hole tournament with rounds of 74, 72 and 69 to finish tied for fourth with ULM's Casey Russell at 215. Jordan Krantz tied for 11th with a final round 76 to go along with an opening round 70 and Tuesday round of 74 for a four-over-par 220. Marc Campbell finished in a six-way tie for 13th with a 221. He shot an even-par 72 Wednesday to go with rounds of 76 and 73. Chris Myers (72-78-77-227) and Landon Allen (77-76-76-229) rounded out the Maverick scores.

Lamar's Chris Stroud and Sam Houston State's Robert Jefferson each shot 70 on day three to finished tied for first place among the 50 individuals at 212 strokes for the 54 holes. Jefferson took individual medalist honors with a birdie on the first playoff hole.