April 8, 2008

MADISON, Miss. - For the second time this season and third time in his UAB career, junior Zach Sucher has captured a tournament title. The Mobile, Ala. native closed out an impressive performance at the Bank of America Intercollegiate with a four-under 68 on Tuesday to capture medalist honors, closing play with a nine-under par 207. As a team, the No. 23 Blazers finished sixth overall in the 15-team event.

"I hit the ball about the same every round and felt good throughout the event," Sucher said. "I really wasn't making putts the first two days. Today (Tuesday), I started out with four birdies through the first nine holes and three of those came from about 25 feet away, so I got into an early groove and just kept it going."

Sucher entered the event ranked as the nation's 45th-ranked golfer and did not disappoint. After carding rounds of 69 and 70 during Monday's opening two rounds, Sucher scorched the par-72, 7,305-yard Reunion Golf Course over Tuesday's final 18. He recorded a total of five birdies with just two bogeys over the final round to finish with a 207.

His three rounds of 70 and below during the event now gives him 12 such rounds this season. Sucher also leads the team with a per-round average of just over 71 (71.8). He was one of just two players to break 70 over the final 18 holes, helping him capture the event by two strokes over second place Jonathon Randolph of Mississippi (209).

"I'm glad my game is peaking right now because we're coming down the home stretch," Sucher continued. "I hope I can keep it up. Our goal is to make Nationals this year and I know if I play well, we have a much better chance to advance."

Senior Brad Smith also played well for the Blazers. Smith shot an even par 216 (72-68-76) over the 54-hole event to close play tied for 13th overall. Smith was tied for seventh entering the final round after shooting four-under par through the opening 36 holes. However, he could not overcome a double bogey and triple bogey on the front nine during Tuesday's last round, and finished with a four-over par 76.

Senior Kyle Sapp closed the event tied for 46th overall with a nine-over par 225 (77-75-73), while junior Mike Oimoen was one stroke back of Sapp to finish tied for 47th with a 226 (75-77-74). Junior Kaylor Timmons, playing in his first tournament in nearly two years, finished tied for 65th with a 233 (76-81-76).

The Blazers closed play with a nine-over par 873 (292-290-291) to finish sixth overall. Tennessee-Chattanooga, ranked 16th in the nation, won the team title with an 852, while No. 41 LSU finished second at 856. No. 44 North Florida posted the low round (282) of the day to move up to a tie for third overall with tournament hosts No. 26 Mississippi at 865. Vanderbilt finished just ahead of UAB in fifth at 872.

The Blazers will next prepare for the 2008 Conference USA Championships, held on April 20-22, at Texarkana, Ark.