No. 4 Bulldogs win 4th straight MACCC title

No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast won the MACCC Championship for the fourth straight season Tuesday, sprinting away down the back nine for a 13-shot win over upset-minded Jones in Brookhaven.

The Bulldogs trailed by two early on the back nine before hitting their stride to claim the 17^th conference title and 12^th since 2008. They finished the 36-hole tournament at 8-under, with seventh-ranked Meridian finishing third at 8-over.

Gulf Coast's Logan Jensen (Fr., Diamondhead/Hancock) edged teammate Paul Hoefer (Fr., Heidelberg, Germany/Kurpfalzgymnasium Mannheim) by one shot for the Tommy Snell Award, given to the championship's medalist.

"We played pretty well, even if we didn't get off to as good a start as Jones did," Bulldogs coach Brad Thornton said. "I thought we were playing well for the most part. Our depth really showed today, and I thought we would be able to take control late as long as we hung around."

Gulf Coast was the only team to break par in a round, and the squad did it twice. The four counting-score Bulldogs made 13 birdies on the back nine to stage a 15-shot turnaround on the Bobcats.

After making the turn at 1-over for the second round, Jensen poured in five birdies in the next seven holes. He shot 67 and finished at 4-under, becoming the third Bulldog player to win an event this year.

"This is what I've been striving for for a very long time, so it's nice," he said. "It was just taking my time in spots where I've tended to rush. I tried to sit back and let things play out."

Hoefer, who also shot 67, and Cal Wier (Fr., Hernando/Lewisburg) had three birdies each down the stretch. Wier shot 69 to join Jensen and Hoefer on the All-Tournament Team by shooting 1-under.

Matthew Bond (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) shot 1-over for the final counting score to finish 15^th.

The Gulf South District Tournament will be played April 27-29 in Brandon. Joining Gulf Coast, Jones and Meridian will be East Central, host Hinds and Northeast Mississippi. Six individuals from teams that didn't qualify will also play at Castlewoods Country Club.

The Bulldogs will continue working on improvements in the intervening weeks.

"This team does a good job of doing that on their own with their preparation," Thornton said. "At the end of the day, these guys know this program is the standard of the conference and the district. You've gotta put the work in, and it's not just gonna continue to happen. We know we're getting everybody's best shot."

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