The Louisiana Tech men's golf team will be one of 16 squads playing in the Bearkat Classic Men's Intercollegiate hosted by Sam Houston State Sunday and Monday, to be played at Huntsville's newest golf course, Raven's Nest.

The Bulldogs will play 36 holes on Sunday, beginning with a shotgun start at 7:45 a.m. The final round will consist of 18 holes on Monday, with tee times ranging from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m.

Joining Tech and the host Bearkats will be Army, Boston College, Centenary, Iowa, Eastern Illinois, Nicholls State, Oklahoma City University, Rice, Southern Illinios, Stephen F. Austin, Texas-Pan American, Texas State University-San Marcos, Washington State and Western Illinois.

The tournament will be Tech's second of the spring season, following a ninth-place finish at the Moe O'Brien Memorial Intercollegiate hosted by McNeese State two weeks ago.

Tech finished ninth overall in the field of 12, ahead of Navy, West Texas A&M and New Orleans, with a total of 897 (33-over par).

Freshman Preston Smith led Tech with a 2-over 218, for a ninth-place tie. His final round 65 was the lowest score of the season for a Bulldog by four strokes, and it smashed Smith's career-low by five shots.

Sophomore Derek Busby entered the final round at +3, but a tough 79 caused him to drop into a 34th-place tie at 10-over 226. Sophomore Logan Reister finished one shot behind Busby to finish in a tie for 38th.

Sophomore Chad Carter finished strong with a 2-over 74 in the final round to finish tied for 51st at +16 (232), while senior Sean Knox rounded out the Bulldog golfers with a 22-over par finish.

Complete results will be posted at the Sam Houston State official athletic Web site at www.shsu.edu/~ath_www/golf/.