NATCHEZ — Alcorn State golfer Daniel Racioppa told head coach Andrew MacBean at the beginning of the fall season his goal was to win one tournament during his sophomore campaign.

After Tuesday’s three-way playoff for the Alcorn State University Braves Classic at Duncan Park, Racioppa clinched his third tournament win of the season.

“I just try to use the pressure to my advantage,” Racioppa said. “I dial in that focus, and normally I play better like that.”

Racioppa was tied with Prairie View A&M’s John Jones and Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Brian Cloud after the second round of play. Racioppa shot the lowest score in the first round, 1-under-par 71, and followed it with a 3-over 75 on Day 2. Cloud and Jones both kept pace with Racioppa Tuesday; Cloud shot an even 72 and 2-over 74, Jones shot 3-over-par 75 and recovered with a round-low score of 1-under-par 71.

On the playoff hole, Racioppa’s tee shot set him up for a tough recovery and a miserable lie. Racioppa’s second shot came out of a greenside bunker on the par-4.

“These are the shots he lives for,” said teammate Royal Hill III. “Daniel is a golf guru, and the level of focus he puts into the game is crazy.”

Racioppa came through with a birdie, getting up and down out of the sand trap to take the playoff and the championship.

“I was hoping for a good lie and it was the opposite of that, unfortunately,” Racioppa said. “After that it’s just trust, pick a shot and go with it.”

Jones and Cloud both shot par on the playoff hole, Jones took a penalty stroke off his tee shot after hitting into the hazard, but reached the green on his recovery and sank a 15-foot putt to put the pressure on Racioppa. That putt was just a five-footer, though, and Racioppa drained it for the tournament win.

“(Our) course management was a huge part (of improved scores in Day 2),” MacBean said. “(Racioppa) has been doing that all year, and I’m not at all surprised that happened.”

Jones finished second in the classic, Cloud finished third. Prairie View men finished first in the team rankings, shooting a cumulative 605 for the tournament. Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished second in the team field with 610 cumulative and the Braves finished third with a 637.

MacBean and Alcorn State served as tournament host and said the week went smoothly.

“Pace of play was fantastic,” MacBean said. “We played under five hours, and that usually doesn’t happen and everything gets backed up.”

The weather conditions called for strong winds on Tuesday, and the relatively dry weekend kept the greens fast, said course superintendent Greg Brooking.

“Spring starts March 21,” Brooking said. “It’s winter right now. We still have the winter-type look, but it tends to make our greens faster because of the dormant grass on our greens.”

For two Alcorn golfers, the ASU Braves Classic served as a homecoming. Hill and Rondall Hawkins Jr. both played high school golf at Natchez High School and returned to a very familiar course in Duncan Park this week.

“The overall vibes from (Monday), compared to how we came out (Tuesday) freed up our swings,” Hill said. “Everything came together at the end.”

Alcorn State continues its season against LeMoyne Owen College on March 20.

TSU women dominate

tourney

Texas Southern women’s golf fostered the tournament’s top-four scorers to win the team competition at the Alcorn State University Braves Classic Tuesday.

Senior Carmen Gonzales was the individual champion, with a 5-over-par 78 and tournament-low 2-over-par 74 for a cumulative score of 152.

“The course seemed pretty short for me,” Gonzales said. “I struggled in the middle with some bogeys…my coached asked why I was using a driver and I went over. I had some three putts.”

The win is Gonzales’ first individual tournament win. Gonzales said her team’s success mostly came from shooting well on the difficult back nine at Duncan Park.

“It’s was really good, we played well,” Gonzales said.