ULM men’s golf team had an excellent showing at this year’s Sun Belt Championships.

Three golfers had strong top 20 finishes at the Championships (Joao Girao, Max Catherine and Guillaume Fanonnel), while the team as a whole placed fifth.

“In the end, it was just too many big numbers for the Warhawks,” ULM head coach Tim Baldwin said. “We missed match play by four strokes overall and finished fifth. The guys are gutted as we had plenty of opportunities to get it done but unfortunately just fell short.

The Championships were held on Tuesday at Raven Golf Club in Sandestin, Florida.

ULM finished with a combined score of 26-over-par 878 (300-289-289).

Girao leads the team with an impressive 1-over-par score of 214 (70-69-75) and finished in a three-way tie for sixth.

The sophomore earned three straight birdies to trim three strokes off his scorecard. He had three pars and one bogey over his last four holes.

Catherine began with five straight pars followed by three straight birdies.

Catherine then started struggling with his shot but got his mojo back on his later holes. Catherine finished in a five-way tie for ninth at the Championships.

Fanonnel was responsible for the lowest ULM score of the day (68), made the biggest jump on the leaderboard and finished tied for 17th in the personal standings.

He closed out the final four holes of the day with three pars and a birdie, finishing with a 33 on the back nine.

Hogan Arey and Thibault Santigny both played decent games as well for the Warhawks. Arey ended with a score of 18-over-par 231 (79-78-80), tying for 55th in the process. He started off good, but things turned shaky. He was able to regain his focus and close out the Championships strong (five pars and two birdies over final seven holes).

Santigny finished in 59th place with a 23-over-par score of 236 (78-76-76). He opened with one birdie, one double bogey, and three bogeys.

His misfortunes continued on the back nine as he stroke three bogeys and a double bogey. While his play was not the strongest, he was a part of a great Warhawk finish at the championships.

“I’m very happy for Joao, Max and Guillaume,” Baldwin added. “They competed hard this week and hopefully get recognized by being selected all-conference this year.

ULM had an amazing men’s golf season finishing top ten at multiple tournaments. The Warhawks now look forward to the offseason and the recruiting process in order to improve on an impressive season.