Final Results

SPRINGFIELD – Paced by the freshman duo of Alvaro Arizabaleta and Philipp Westermann, the Southeastern Louisiana University men's golf team fired a low round of 283 on Wednesday to pull away from a two-stroke lead and cruise to its first Southland Conference Championship in a decade at Carter Plantation.

The win, Southeastern's fourth of the year and 40th under head coach Tim Baldwin, gave the Lions their third Southland Conference championship and the first since a one-stroke win over UTSA in the 2000 Championships in West Columbia, Texas. Playing on its home course for the first time in the Conference Championship, Southeastern finished 11 strokes ahead of Central Arkansas (which was ineligible to win the title due its transition from Division II) and 24 shots in front of Sam Houston State.

“We played great this week,” Baldwin said. “Sometimes there's some pressure when you host something. The weather was tough, it was beautiful temperature-wise, but the wind was up this week and that affected the scores.”

Arizabaleta, who claimed the overall lead after shooting a 5-under-67 on Tuesday, carded a 3-under 69 in the final round to win medalist honors by eight strokes over Steven Lecuyer of UCA and Fergal Rafferty of SHSU. The freshman, who became Southeastern's third player to claim medalist honors (joining Bill Sherman in 1998 and Cedric Scotto in 2009), was the only golfer in the 50-player field to finish below par as he recorded an 8-under 208.

After firing a 285 to take the lead after Tuesday's second round, Southeastern wasted no time in pulling away as it went six-under par on the front nine. Westermann, ranked No. 25 nationally and the top-ranked freshman in the GolfStat Cup standings, recorded five birdies on the front nine to finish at 5-under-31. Westermann, who joined the program in January, turned in the lowest score of the day with a 4-under 68 and finished fourth overall at 217.

“Alvaro played fantastic this week,” Baldwin said. “We were able to put the last two rounds together with a 285 and a 283. We just played great golf this week. We've won four times this year as a team and we've had three different individuals lead us.”

Scotto earned a top-10 finish for the sixth time in 11 events after shooting a 4-over 76 to finish at 220. He was joined in the top-20 by Rasmus Astrand, who birdied four of his final five holes to card a 2-under 70 and finish at 224 for the tournament along with Horacio Leon, who recorded a 4-over 76.

After getting to a four shot lead early in Monday's first round, the Lions fell into third place after the first day as the teams battled blustery conditions. The winds calmed down in Tuesday's second round before the 10 teams played in ideal conditions on Wednesday with temperatures in the mid-70's with a light breeze.

“We had it under par early on the first day getting to five-under, but in a matter of three holes we gave it all back and sort of limped in,” Baldwin said. “It was just a testament to the players in getting focused and their desire to win. It's been 10 years since we last won a conference championship. We've had a good year and we finished on a good note and now we're looking forward to the (NCAA) regional championship.”

Stephen F. Austin finished fourth overall at 887 with UT Arlington fifth at 891. Four-time defending champion Lamar was sixth at 892 followed by UTSA (902), Texas State (909), McNeese State (939) and Nicholls State (943).

Southeastern will compete in one of six regionals scheduled for May 20-22. The regional teams will be announced on May 10.

2010 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 26-28, 2010
Springfield, La. (Carter Plantation)
Par 72, 7,049 yards

TEAM SCORING
1. Southeastern 294-285-283-862
2. Central Arkansas 291-290-292-873
3. Sam Houston State 291-299-296-886
4. Stephen F. Austin 297-294-296-887
5. UT Arlington 301-296-294-891
6. Lamar 299-295-298-892
7. UTSA 295-311-296-902
8. Texas State 306-302-301-909
9. McNeese State 325-311-303-939
10. Nicholls State 313-315-315-943

SOUTHEASTERN INDIVIDUAL
1. Alvaro Arizabaleta 72-67-69-208
T4. Philipp Westermann 77-72-68-217
T7. Cedric Scotto 71-73-76-220
T17. Horacio Leon 75-73-76-224
T17. Rasmus Astrand 76-78-70-224

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Alvaro Arizabaleta, Southeastern, 72-67- 69-208
T2. Steven Lecuyer, Central Arkansas, 74-72-70-216
T2. Fergal Rafferty, Sam Houston State, 73-71-72-216
T4. Kyle Robbins, Stephen F. Austin, 73-72- 72-217
T4. Philipp Westermann, Southeastern, 77-72-68-217
6. Gideon Pienaar, Central Arkansas, 69-73-77-219
T7. Kevin Hesbois, Lamar, 72-75-73-220
T7. Cedric Scotto, Southeastern, 71-73-76-220
T9. Bryce Easton, UT Arlington, 74-70-77-221
T9. Pierre-Alexis Rolland, Lamar, 76-68-77-221
T9. Ben Suarez, McNeese State, 74-76-71-221