MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – SIUE golf advanced to the championship match of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament for the second year in a row but came up just short. The Cougars fell to Tennessee Tech in the championship round 3-2-0, with the final match coming down to the final hole.

"I am so proud of this team, and all that they have accomplished," SIUE Head Coach Derrick Brown said. "I wanted so bad to cap it off with a title for them."

Luke Ludwig and TJ Baker each won their final round matches.

The semifinal against No. 1 Little Rock required a Cougar comeback and extra golf after being tied after 18 holes. Alex Eickhoff defeated Jansen Smith 1-UP to give the Cougars the 3-2-0 win. Ludwig and Brady Kaufmann each won semifinal matches as well.

"We were down in four matches at the turn," Brow said. "In two matches we were down by three and in two we were down by four. To flip two of those matches is just tremendous. The guys didn't give up. It was so fun to watch."

Tennessee Tech defeated UT Martin 4-1-0 in their semifinal match to advance to the final.  The Golden Eagles earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

The OVC tournament concludes one of the most successful for the Cougars since the transition to Division I play. SIUE finished the year with the lowest scoring average in school history at 286.1, which broke the previous record by more than four strokes.

Baker (71.00) and Kaufmann (71.70) both broke the single season scoring average.

The Cougars captured two tournament titles, including their home tournament, the Dolenc Invitational where they fired an 818, the lowest 54-hole total in school history. SIUE finished as runners up in two other tournaments.

"It's hard to put in words how talented this team is," Brown said. "We just came up a hole short."

Match Play Results
Semifinal #1: No. 4 SIUE 3, No. 1 Little Rock 2
Alex Eickhoff (SIUE) def. Jansen Smith (LR), 1UP (1 extra hole)
Luke Ludwig (SIUE) def. Magnus Lomholt (LR), 1UP
Brady Kaufmann (SIUE) def. Matteo Cristoni (LR), 2&1
Rhett South (LR) def. TJ Baker (SIUE), 3&2
Archie Smith (LR) def. Anthony Ruthey (SIUE), 5&4

Semifinal #2: No. 2 Tennessee Tech 4, No. 3 UT Martin 1
Jackson Skeen (TTU) def. Jacob Uehlein (UTM), 4&3
Alex Broyles (TTU) def. Grant Phillips (UTM), 3&2
Luke Caldwell (UTM) def. Sean Anderson (TTU), 3UP
Mark McDearman (TTU) def. Jonathan Xoinis (UTM), 1UP
Haden Maxwell (TTU) def. Dax Isbell (UTM), 5&4

Final: No. 2 Tennessee Tech 3, No. 4 SIUE 2
Haden Maxwell (TTU) def. Alex Eickhoff (SIUE), 4&2
Luke Ludwig (SIUE) def. Sean Anderson (TTU), 4&3
TJ Baker (SIUE) def. Alex Broyles (TTU), 3&2
Mark McDearman (TTU) def. Brady Kaufmann (SIUE), 2UP
Jackson Skeen (TTU) def. Anthony Ruthey (SIUE), 5&4