March 11, 2008

Final Round

LAFAYETTE - Junior Ryan Robertson completed a strong performance Tuesday by shooting a one-under par 71 in the final round of the 2008 Louisiana Classic hosted by UL-Lafayette.

Roberston, who shot back to back 72s to open the event Monday, finished with a three-round total of 215 to tie for third place in the individual competition.

The junior college transfer registered his best performance since signing with the Bulldogs and led Tech to a sixth-place team finish in the 14-team event.

"I was really pleased with Ryan," said Tech head coach Jean Hall. "I've been saying all along that he's been close. He's a great kid and he really stepped up in this tournament.

"I feel like I've got four guys that I can depend on most of the time now. If I can find just one more, we will have a fairly good team."

Sophomore Matthew Harvey shot a tournament total of 218 (73-72-73) to tie for ninth place while junior Corey Bartlett struggled in his final round, firing a 78 for a three-round total of 223 and 28th place.

Hall said he was pleased with how junior Amrith de Soysa rebounded nicely from a disastrous opening two rounds to fire a final round 73 (87-80-73=240, tied 72nd).

"I followed him around all day today," Hall said. "I can't explain what happened to him yesterday. Today, he got a couple over par early but fought back. He shot two under over the last four holes and that really helped us out."

Senior Chad Bailey shot 79-79-78 for a total of 236 to finish in 69th place.

As a team, Tech finished sixth with a team total of 887, trailing only Colorado (862), SMU (875), Illinois (884), Richmond (885), and North Texas (886).

"If our fourth man shoots 74 in all three rounds then we finish second in this tournament," Hall said. "It's the same story every time. I've got three guys that will perform and then we have to count high numbers for the last two. And it's not the same ones each time. We just have to find some consistency."