Senior Hardham leads team in 2-day invitation

ULM men’s golf team placed seventh overall at Rice International on Monday and Tuesday.

The team was represented by five golfers: Tim Hardham, Nick Wilson, Christian Tepley, Mason Seaborn, and Alex Malmay.

Senior Tim Hardham placed highest for the team individually, taking 16th with 218 total strokes.

“It was a good start to the semester. I think we played well as a team,” Hardham said.

Coach Erik Hsu said, “Tim Hardham and Nick Wilson are kind of the rocks of our golf team.”

He said, “Those guys are great leaders, so it’s nice to have them in place to help the freshmen along .”

Freshman Christian Tepley tied with Senior Nick Wilson individually securing the 19th slot, with 219 total strokes.

“He (Tepley) plays well beyond his years as far as maturity on the golf course,” Hsu said.

He said, “He really does a good job of keeping his attitude and his demeanor level out there.”

Tepley said, “This semester I feel a lot more comfortable. We felt like we were in contention, and that we owned what we were doing.”

At one point in the tournament, the team was in second place overall, which may show potential for the rest of the season.

Hsu said, “It’s different because we have a lot of new faces trying to figure things out. It’s all about figuring out whose going to step up and our goal is to win a conference championship.”

One of the focuses the team has for this season is the mental aspect of the game.

Tepley said the team works with a sports psychologist. He said, “The thing that he (psychologist) tells us is to appreciate the good things.”