Fontainebleau High 2007graduate Ken Looper carded a 2-under par 69 in Tuesday’s final round to grab individual medalist honors and help make it a University of New Orleans sweep as the Privateers captured the Sam Hall Intercollegiate at Hattiesburg Country Club in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Looper, a sophomore, who is majoring in marketing, fired rounds of 72 and 71 on the first day of competition. The first two rounds are played back-to-back.

Looper credited his consistent ball striking with being the key to his two-under par final round, which included three birdies.

Pictured is Ken Looper. (Courtesy of UNO Athletes)

“I hit 17 greens in my final round so my ball striking was very consistent. Everything for me happens from the tee. Whenever I have a good plan from the tee box, good things seem to follow from the fairway,” Looper said.

“I was really solid. I didn’t have a lot of birdies, but at the same time I didn’t have many bogeys. I am feeling pretty confident with my consistency lately. Things seem to be working for me,” Looper added.

“I’m playing really relaxed, and I feel confident in my ability. I’m doing a good job of keeping my emotions in check, which I feel helps take high numbers out of the equation.”

The Privateers shot 3-over par as a team in the final round to defeat Middle Tennessee by four shots. Arkansas State finished third 13 shots back.

UNO, which won the Squire Creek Invitational hosted by Louisiana Tech two weeks ago, recorded back-to-back team championships for the second straight season.

“Once again, I’m just really proud of these guys,” said UNO head coach Chris McCarter, whose program has won five tournaments since September 2007. “Conditions were pretty tough all week, and these guys really grinded it out from start to finish.”

UNO placed four players in the top 16 individually, which earned its victory based on consistent play on the back nine.

The Privateers were 1-under par as a team coming home after turning at 4-over par.

Looper, who finished 1-under par for the three-round event, defeated Arkansas State’s John Duthie by one shot to win his second career individual championship. UNO senior Adam Cornelson posted a 1-over par 72 to finish in a tie for third coming in four shots behind Looper.

Jose Toledo and Oscar Zetterwall each finished with a 73 to get a tie for 16th, while Hector Arias (tied for 29th) shot a final-round 78. Sebastian Szirmak, competing as an individual, shot a 77.

“Again, we managed to beat a couple of really good teams this week,” McCarter said. “Middle Tennessee finished 15th in the NCAAs last year, and to go head-to-head with them all week was really big for our guys.”

The Privateers, who completed their fall season, will kick off the spring season Feb. 9 and 10 at the UNO Mardi Gras Invitational at TPC Louisiana.