Feb. 19, 2008

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The UAB men's golf team continued to improve during the third and final round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday, and finished tied for seventh overall. The Blazers closed play with a three-day total of 893 (301-296-297) and defeated four teams ranked ahead of them in the latest national poll.

The Blazers entered the competition ranked 29th in the nation, and were one of nine teams in the event that are ranked among the top-30 teams in the country. The Blazers finished ahead of No. 28 Pepperdine (894), No. 14 South Carolina (895), No. 21 Indiana (900) and No. 23 UCF (901).

The nation's fourth-ranked team in the University of Alabama (290-296-290/873) captured its second straight victory in the prestigious event, with a four-stroke advantage of No. 2 UCLA (295-293-289/877). Tournament host North Florida (296-289-301) and No. 12 Tennessee (291-300-295) tied for third overall with an 886. Rounding out the top five was No. 3 Charlotte (295-296-298/889) and No. 18 Florida (296-305-288/889), both of which finished four strokes ahead of the Blazers.

Individually, it was senior Kyle Sapp and junior Zach Sucher who both finished tied for 16th overall with a five-over par 221. Sapp (77-73-71) recorded the team's low round of the day with a one-under par 71, which happened to be the only round shot below par by a UAB player on the 6,925-yard Sawgrass Country Club course. Sucher (75-74-72) finished the day at even par.

Senior Brad Smith, who led the Blazers throughout the opening two rounds, struggled to make a six-over par 78 and closed play tied for 29th overall with a 224 (74-72-78). Sophomore Adam West tied for 51st overall with a 227 (75-76-76), while junior Mike Oimeon rounds out the team tied for 69th (78-77-80/235).

Only 14 golfers, seven during each round, shot below par during the first 36 holes. That number nearly doubled during the final 18 holes as 12 golfers, including Sapp, shot below par on the day.

Georgia State's Joel Sjoholm won the individual title with a three-day score of 209. His 7-under-par total was the third lowest winning score in tournament history. He beat out a group of three players that included UNF's Michael O'Neal, Florida's Will Strickler and UCLA's Jason Kang, who recorded a tournament-low 68 on Tuesday.

The Blazers will next compete at the Seminole Intercollegiate on March 2-4 in Tallahassee, Fla.