It isn’t a question of if, it is a question of whom.
Both Cyril Bouniol and Alex Carpenter tied at the top of last year’s Lone Star Conference tournament, splitting the title. There is a good chance a Wildcat will bring home this year’s title, but who will it be?
Cyril Bouniol comes into next week’s LSC tournament in San Antonio as the defending national champion. Bouniol didn’t win a tournament at ACU until winning the conference tournament. He used the momentum from last year’s win, taking the South Central Region title and later the national championship. Those three wins were good enough to make Bouniol the LSC’s Male Athlete of the Year.
“The ultimate goal remains to make it to nationals,” Bouniol said. “Patience, determinaton and acceptance will be the keys to success.”
Alex Carpenter shared the title with Bouniol last year and since has been one of the nation’s top golfers. Carpenter has won 11 collegiate tournaments, including seven this year. He is ranked by golfstat.com as the fifth best collegiate golfer in the nation, and he is the only golfer, nationally, to boast an average round this season of under 70.
“I’m pretty excited for this week’s conference tournament,” Carpenter said. “Everyone on the team is hitting it well, and all of our preseason events have helped build everyone’s confidence.”
Although the two will be looking to secure individual titles, their main goal is to lead the Wildcats to an LSC title. Last year, ACU took the team title for the first time since 1995. Before the 15-year drought, however, the Wildcats dominated the LSC postseason tournament, winning 7 of 10 titles from 1985 to 1995.
Other notable teams with a chance of winning the tournament include the University of Central Oklahoma, Cameron University and Midwestern State University. Those three teams, along with the Wildcats, finished in the top four of the UCO/Kickingbird Classic two weeks ago.
“UCO is ranked ahead of us and won the last tournament,” Bouniol said. “That puts them as the favorite and all the pressure on their shoulders.”
The LSC tournament will take place Monday-Wednesday in San Antonio. The Wildcats will arrive on Saturday and play a practice round on Sunday to get a feel for the course. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, each competitor will play one round each to decide the overall and individual champions.
