EDMOND, Okla. -- The ACU Wildcats played their best golf of the spring season Monday and Tuesday, finishing a strong third at the UCO/Kickingbird Classic in Edmond, Okla.
The Wildcats -- who led after two rounds of play with a total of 560 -- were passed by team champion St. Edward's and Central Oklahoma on the final day to drop into third place. St. Edward's fired an 8-under-par 272 on Tuesday to pull out the team title with a three-round total of 836, topping Central Oklahoma by one stroke (837) and ACU by three strokes (839).
ACU had a two-stroke lead over Central Oklahoma and St. Mary's (560-562) after Monday's first two rounds, riding the hot play of Hugues Joannes and Curtis Harris to the lead. Joannes fired rounds of 72 and 66 on Monday, while Harris checked in at 70-67--137. On Tuesday it was Patrick Hanauer and Stephen Knight -- both of whom shot 1-under-par 69s -- who led the ACU effort.
And even though the Wildcats didn't win the tournament, ACU head coach Mike Campbell was still pleased with his team's effort.
"I'm not disappointed at all in the way we played," he said. "I'm disappointed we didn't win, but not in anything else. When you play as well as we did, we can't look at it like we lost. We just got beat by two teams that played a little bit better."
Campbell, though, said he likes how his team seems to be coming together at the right time of the season. ACU will be back in action next weekend at the North Alabama Spring Classic before the Lone Star Conference Tournament, April 16-17, in Roanoke.
"I've been preaching to our guys all along that we need to peak at the right time, and that's at the conference and regional tournaments and beyond," Campbell said. "I think this was the first step toward that goal."