PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – The ACU Wildcats carded the day's low score Tuesday in the final round of the Vaqueros Intercollegiate golf tournament at the Playa Paraiso Golf Club, finishing fourth overall.
The Wildcats – who shot a 13-over-par 301 in Monday's second round – shot an even-par 288 Wednesday, the best score by a squad in the 18-team field by three strokes over team champion SMU. The Mustangs won the tournament by 15 strokes over runner-up UTEP. North Texas finished at 20-over-par 884 for third place, with ACU in fourth at 22-over-par 886.
"I'm tremendously proud of our guys, shooting the lowest team score of the day," ACU head coach Tom Shaw said. "We had a rough round (Monday), but after a good team meeting where we reinforced our game plan, the guys came out and performed like a championship team. This team has demonstrated remarkable resilience for much of the year, which bodes well for the rest of the season. It was a good start to the spring semester and builds confidence for the rest of our season."
ACU junior Gregoire Hoyeau (3-under-par 69) and senior Jaime Lewis (1-under-par 71) were under par for the day, helping the Wildcats to the fourth-place team finish. Hoyeau finished 12th overall at 3-over-par with rounds of 76-74-69, while Lewis was tied for 13th at 4-over-par 220 with rounds of 75-74-71.
Freshman Colin Leonard had a good start to his spring championship season, finishing tied for 18th at 6-over-par 222 with rounds of 73-77-72, giving the Wildcats three players in the top 20. Junior Thomas Buisson was tied for 26th at 9-over-par 225 with rounds of 73-76-76, and freshman Jack Hollingsed was 65th at 22-over-par 238 with rounds of 79-83-76. Senior Trenton Johnson – playing as an individual – finished 42nd at 14-over-par 230 with rounds of 77-75-78.
The Wildcats return to competition next week as they play in the Bentwater Intercollegiate next Monday and Tuesday at the Bentwater Country Club in Montgomery, Texas.
