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ULM Upsets Georgia Southern in Sun Belt Semifinals; Falls to A-State in Championship Match

ULM Upsets Georgia Southern in Sun Belt Semifinals; Falls to A-State in Championship Match

Men's Golf Apr 24
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – The ULM men's golf team, which reached the match play round after a sudden-death playoff victory over UT Arlington to conclude the third round, upset No. 1-seed Georgia Southern, 3-2, in a match play semifinal Wednesday morning (April 24) at the Sun Belt Men's Golf Championships.
 
The Warhawks got semifinal wins from Otto Van Buynder, who defeated Georgia Southern's Brett Barron, 1 up, and Thibault Santigny, who knocked off Sun Belt individual medalist Steven Fisk, 2&1. Georgia Southern produced a pair of 1-up wins by Colin Bowles over Andoni Etchenique and Jake Maples over Michael Gilbert. Guillaume Fanonnel clinched the semifinal victory for ULM, converting a 2-foot putt on the second playoff hole to beat Ben Carr, 1 up.
 
ULM advanced to the Championship match to face No. 3-seed Arkansas State, which posted a 3-2 win over No. 2-seed Coastal Carolina in the other semifinal at the Raven Golf Club at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.
 
The Red Wolves recorded wins in the first, second, third and fifth matches en route to a 4-1 victory over ULM in the Sun Belt Championship match. It marked A-State's first Sun Belt Men's Golf Championship and secured the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
 
A-State's Joel Wendin needed 19 holes to earn a win over Gilbert. Matthew Cole defeated Santigny, 1 up, while Luka Naglic claimed his match over Etchenique, 2&1. Fanonnel won his second match of the day, closing out Julien Sale, 2&1, to put the Warhawks on the scoreboard. The Red Wolves' Zan Luka Stirn won his match against Van Buynder, 4&3.
 
"It's no fun finishing second," ULM Director of Golf Tim Baldwin said. "The guys played really hard today, winning over a tough Georgia Southern team in the morning. Thibault took down their top player, Steven Fisk, 2&1, while G (Guillaume) won his match in extra holes for us to move onto the final. Otto also defeated their No. 1 player in the morning, which was key.
 
"In the afternoon against Arkansas State, we were up in a couple matches most of the afternoon but were down in three others. In the end, A-State was better today and deserved winning. We passed up several opportunities to close the deal but just didn't get it done this year.
 
"It has been a great spring season for the guys," Baldwin continued. "Numerous ULM records were broken and all of our players will be back in 2019-20, so our prospects for the future look bright."
 
The 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship selections will be announced on Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. CT on Golf Channel. Fanonnel, who posted four Top 10 finishes while leading ULM in scoring average (71.31), is expected to be one of 45 individuals selected to compete at one of six NCAA regional championships sites May 12-15. The junior shot 72 or better in 20 of 26 rounds this season, including six rounds in the 60s.
 
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