Tuesday, March 15
Lafayette, La.
University of North Texas
vs
Louisiana Classics
Prone's T3 Showing Leads UNT to 3rd Place Finish
3/15/2022 4:16:00 PM | Men's Golf
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Mean Green followed up one of the best rounds in program history Monday afternoon with another solid showing on Tuesday to close out the Louisiana Classics and claim a third-place finish at 20-under par.
UNT was led by sophomore Diego Prone, who was making his spring debut and turned in career-bests for low round and finish after shooting a three-round, two-day total of 70-65-70-205 to finish tied for third at 11-under par. Fellow sophomore and Prone's countryman, Vicente Marzilio, followed up his top-5 finish at the Coral Creek Club Invitational two weeks ago by tying for ninth with a 73-66-70-209 to finish at 7-under par. His second-round 66 was the best round of his collegiate career. To round out the scoring, fifth-year Viktor Forslund turned in his second straight subpar round to finish tied for 24th at 1-under, and senior Lenny Bergsson finished tied for 27th at even-par.
"I am so proud of this team," UNT head coach Brad Stracke said. "We play an incredibly difficult schedule that gives us the best chance to make the postseason if we can beat 60% of the teams throughout the regular season. Playing with the best teams in the nation week in and week out is the only way to achieve our goals and know where we stack up nationally. I feel like we are closing in on that gap and our team is getting better each week."
The Mean Green went 14-under in the second of two rounds on Monday - just a few shots off the program record - and ended up finishing Tuesday's round seven shots clear of fourth-place Ole Miss, the 17th-ranked team in the nation. UNT also finished better than No. 41 Little Rock, who finished the event in ninth at 6-over par. No. 21 Texas A&M won the event at 47-under, a new tournament record, and No. 25 LSU took second at 35-under.
Marzilio's two eagles - both in Monday's second round - tied for the most in the field, and his 39 pars tied for second in the field. Prone's 16 total birdies were good for fourth in the field and he tied for second in Par-5 scoring.
"Diego played incredibly, having his best finish in collegiate golf," Stracke said. "Vicente had another top-10 showing and is finding his stride this spring.Â
"It was a great team performance, but we still have a ways to go until we get to where we want to be."
The Mean Green will have a quick turnaround as they head to Houston for the All-American Intercollegiate on March 21-22. Fans can follow the program all season on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and check MeanGreenSports.com for daily recaps.
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 21 Texas A&M (-47)
2. No. 25 LSU (-35)
3. North Texas (-20)
4. No. 17 Ole Miss (-13)
5. Houston (-8)
6. Kansas State (-7)
7. Louisiana Tech (-1)
8. Mississippi State (+2)
9. No. 41 Little Rock (+6)
10. UTSA (+8)
T11. Illinois State (+9)
T11. Rice (+9)
13. Sam Houston (+10)
14. Louisiana-A (+13)
T15. Lipscomb (+25)
T15. Michigan (+25)
17. Louisiana-B (+37)
Player Leaderboard
T3. Diego Prone (-11)
T9. Vicente Marzilio (-7)
T24. Viktor Forslund (-1)
T27. Lenny Bergsson (E)
T84. Nikhil Gopal (+15)
UNT was led by sophomore Diego Prone, who was making his spring debut and turned in career-bests for low round and finish after shooting a three-round, two-day total of 70-65-70-205 to finish tied for third at 11-under par. Fellow sophomore and Prone's countryman, Vicente Marzilio, followed up his top-5 finish at the Coral Creek Club Invitational two weeks ago by tying for ninth with a 73-66-70-209 to finish at 7-under par. His second-round 66 was the best round of his collegiate career. To round out the scoring, fifth-year Viktor Forslund turned in his second straight subpar round to finish tied for 24th at 1-under, and senior Lenny Bergsson finished tied for 27th at even-par.
"I am so proud of this team," UNT head coach Brad Stracke said. "We play an incredibly difficult schedule that gives us the best chance to make the postseason if we can beat 60% of the teams throughout the regular season. Playing with the best teams in the nation week in and week out is the only way to achieve our goals and know where we stack up nationally. I feel like we are closing in on that gap and our team is getting better each week."
The Mean Green went 14-under in the second of two rounds on Monday - just a few shots off the program record - and ended up finishing Tuesday's round seven shots clear of fourth-place Ole Miss, the 17th-ranked team in the nation. UNT also finished better than No. 41 Little Rock, who finished the event in ninth at 6-over par. No. 21 Texas A&M won the event at 47-under, a new tournament record, and No. 25 LSU took second at 35-under.
Marzilio's two eagles - both in Monday's second round - tied for the most in the field, and his 39 pars tied for second in the field. Prone's 16 total birdies were good for fourth in the field and he tied for second in Par-5 scoring.
"Diego played incredibly, having his best finish in collegiate golf," Stracke said. "Vicente had another top-10 showing and is finding his stride this spring.Â
"It was a great team performance, but we still have a ways to go until we get to where we want to be."
The Mean Green will have a quick turnaround as they head to Houston for the All-American Intercollegiate on March 21-22. Fans can follow the program all season on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and check MeanGreenSports.com for daily recaps.
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 21 Texas A&M (-47)
2. No. 25 LSU (-35)
3. North Texas (-20)
4. No. 17 Ole Miss (-13)
5. Houston (-8)
6. Kansas State (-7)
7. Louisiana Tech (-1)
8. Mississippi State (+2)
9. No. 41 Little Rock (+6)
10. UTSA (+8)
T11. Illinois State (+9)
T11. Rice (+9)
13. Sam Houston (+10)
14. Louisiana-A (+13)
T15. Lipscomb (+25)
T15. Michigan (+25)
17. Louisiana-B (+37)
Player Leaderboard
T3. Diego Prone (-11)
T9. Vicente Marzilio (-7)
T24. Viktor Forslund (-1)
T27. Lenny Bergsson (E)
T84. Nikhil Gopal (+15)
Players Mentioned
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