The University of New Orleans Privateers golf team picked up its biggest win under sixth-year head coach Chris McCarter last Tuesday, defeating nationally-ranked LSU in a playoff to take team honors at the Squire Creek Intercollegiate hosted by Louisiana Tech.

The Privateers fired a 2-under par 286 to reach sudden death and was 2-under par in the 10-man playoff to give UNO its sixth team championship title in the last four seasons.

UNO finished at 11-under par for the three-round event held at Squire Creek Country Club.

Pictured are members of the University of New Orleans golf team after winning the Squire Creek Intercollegiate last Tuesday. Pictured from left: Head coach Chris McCarter, Adam Cornelson, Oscar Zetterwall, Hector Arias, Sebastian Szirmak and Ken Looper. (Photo Courtesy of Louisiana Tech)

“I have never been prouder for a team,” said McCarter, the 2008 Louisiana Coach of the Year. “These guys just played phenomenal. We beat a lot of really good teams this week. It is by far the biggest win since I’ve been here.”

UNO got the victory despite not having two-time All-Sun Belt Conference standout Jose Toledo, who was in Australia preparing for the World Amateur Team Championship.

The Privateers got a big effort from sophomore Ken Looper, a 2007 Fontainebleau High grad, and freshman Sebastian Szirmak who fired 2-under par 70’s in Tuesday’s final round. Looper, who was 7-under par in his last two rounds, and Szirmak each finished in a tie for 24th individually.

Looper, a marketing major, said he wasn’t discouraged after shooting an opening round 81 on Monday because he posted two birdies in his final two holes before moving into the same day second round.

“Everything that could go wrong in the first round did. My putting wasn’t there to start. My putting came back and then my driver went away. It seemed like one thing went wrong on almost every hole. I told my coach (McCarter) after making those two birdies not to worry about my score,” Looper said.

McCarter said he figured Looper would come back. “Ken is a tough competitor. I felt the course set up well for him. I really wasn’t surprised when he came back with a couple of really good scores,” McCarter said.

“He didn’t let the bad first round drag him down. I think it was motivation for him to play better in the next two rounds. He is developing into a nice player, who is managing himself and his game. I think you will see more consistent play out of him,” McCarter added.

Looper put his disappointing first round behind him rebounding by carding a five-under 67 in round two. He fired six birdies with only one bogey that coming on the 17th hole.

In Tuesday’s final round 70, Looper said his ball striking from the fairway made the difference. Looper started the final round with a double bogey on the first hole, but recovered and finished his round with six birdies.

Looper said it was a very tough course. “The greens were very fast. If you didn’t have the right speed you could easily three-put a lot of greens.”

UNO improved to 3-0 in playoffs under McCarter.

McCarter said as far as wins go, he thought it was their best win ever simply because of the strength of the field.

“It was the best team effort that I have ever been a part of. I knew these guys had the talent to put something like this together, but it was really exciting to see it all unfold, McCarter said.”

“This tournament had five teams that competed in the NCAA’s last year, so it’s tough to find a better field.”

LSU, which was ranked No. 18 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, also shot 286 and finished at 11-under. Ole Miss finished in third place at 8-under par, while Louisville (5-under) got fourth. Louisiana-Lafayette and Nevada each tied for fifth at 2-under par.

UNO will return to action Oct. 27 at the Sam H. Hall Intercollegiate, hosted by Southern Mississippi.