The Arkansas State men’s golf team opened its 2015-16 season Monday at the 13th Annual Sam Hall Intercollegiate, recording a two-round 582 at the Hattiesburg Country Club that put the Red Wolves in 13th place with one round left to play.
A-State, competing for the first time under new head coach Mike Hagen, ended the first round in eighth place among the 15-team field after recording a 289. However, the Red Wolves added 12 strokes to that total for the second 18 holes and dropped to 13th place.
The Red Wolves lead 14th-place Louisiana-Monroe by three strokes and trail 13th-place Southeastern Louisiana by three. A-State is within nine strokes of eighth-place Middle Tennessee, while McNeese State leads the field with a 549. Louisiana Tech stands second with a 561 and Louisiana-Lafayette third with a 566.
Junior Matt Loiacano and senior Seth Garner both recorded a team-best 147 and stand tied for 36th place. Loiacano carded a team-best 69 in the opening round, which also matched the second best single-round score of his career, before coming back to shoot a 78 for the second 18 holes. He piled up 10 birdies on the day, matching the third most among all players.
Garner posted a first-round 72, but like Loiacano, saw his score rise in the second round with a 75. Following Loiacano and Garner for the Red Wolves, senior Oswin Schlenkrich is tied for 47th place with a combined 148. Schlenkrich shot a team-best 72 during the second round and collected 25 pars on the day, tying the seventh most among all players.
Playing in their first collegiate tournament, freshmen Joel Wendin and Cameron McRae are tied for 52nd and 67th place, respectively. Wendin is only one stroke behind Schlenkrich with a 149, while McRae is an additional four back with a 153.
The tournament’s third and final round will be played Tuesday.
ARKANSAS STATE RESULTS
Place, Name (RD 1-RD 2--TOTAL)
13, Arkansas State (69-78--147)
T36, Matthew Loiacano (69-78--147)
T36, Seth Garner (72-75--147)
T47, Oswin Schlenkrich (76-72--148)
T52, Joel Wendin (72-77--149)
T67, Cameron McRae (76-77-153)