University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Monday, February 23
Henderson, Nevada
10 a.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate
Golf Opens Play Monday at Lake Las Vegas Invitational
2/22/2026 7:03:00 PM | Golf
UL hosts 11-team field at Reflection Bay
HENDERSON, Nev. – They may be traveling 800 miles, but UL's Ragin' Cajun golf team will still be serving as host team for the second straight year at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate Tournament which begins Monday at the Reflection Bay Golf Club.
The Cajuns, coming off an eighth-place finish in last week's Border Olympics, will welcome 10 other teams for the three-day, 54-hole tournament over Reflection Bay's 7,261-yard, par-72 layout. UL finished fifth out of 15 teams last year, and coach Theo Sliman said he's glad for the opportunity to both return to the event and serve as host team.
"It's great for us to play here since it's a totally different style of course than what we're accustomed to," Sliman said of the picturesque Reflection Bay layout. "It's desert golf on a lake, so you get the atmosphere of a desert but the winds off the lake can really play havoc. It's going to really test our guys' games, but this will help us when we get near the end of the season. It'll be a good challenge for sure."
The field includes two Sun Belt Conference rivals in Texas State and Coastal Carolina, along with UC San Diego, Kansas City, Long Island, Austin Peay, Wichita State, Boise State, Northern Illinois and Jacksonville State. Teams will play three 18-hole rounds Monday through Wednesday.
UL is the top returning finisher in the field from last year when the Cajuns carded a four-under 289-285-286—860 score and had two players finish in the individual top 20. One of those, senior Malan Potgieter, finished tied for 17th last year but has five top-four finishes in six tournaments this year.
Potgieter will ride a hot streak into the Lake Las Vegas event. The Kirkwood, South Africa native is the Cajuns' fall-season stroke leader with a 68.87 average and is ranked 72nd in the national Scoreboard rankings, and tied for third at the Border Olympics with a 67-71-71—209 (-4) score. One week prior to that spring opener, he tied for sixth in the Africa Amateur Championships played in his native South Africa.
He'll be joined in the lineup by fellow senior Jean Louis du Plessis, junior Carter Schmitt and freshmen James Holtsclaw and Drew Sliman. Schmitt had the shot of the tournament in last week's Border Olympics when he holed out for an ace on the 168-yard par-three 14th hole in round three at Laredo Country Club on his way to a 22nd-place individual finish.
Sophomore Jay Brooks and freshman Nathan Schuldt will play as individuals. Sliman said one advantage of serving as tournament host is that he can play all seven of his available roster players in the event.
"We can sort of dictate the field," he said. "We have a smaller roster right now, so we chose to give all seven of them a chance to play prior to us coming back home for the Louisiana Classics."
UL will host the 41st annual Louisiana Classics in two weeks on March 8-10 at Oakbourne Country Club, with a 14-team field taking part in the Cajuns' only home appearance of the season.
The Cajuns, coming off an eighth-place finish in last week's Border Olympics, will welcome 10 other teams for the three-day, 54-hole tournament over Reflection Bay's 7,261-yard, par-72 layout. UL finished fifth out of 15 teams last year, and coach Theo Sliman said he's glad for the opportunity to both return to the event and serve as host team.
"It's great for us to play here since it's a totally different style of course than what we're accustomed to," Sliman said of the picturesque Reflection Bay layout. "It's desert golf on a lake, so you get the atmosphere of a desert but the winds off the lake can really play havoc. It's going to really test our guys' games, but this will help us when we get near the end of the season. It'll be a good challenge for sure."
The field includes two Sun Belt Conference rivals in Texas State and Coastal Carolina, along with UC San Diego, Kansas City, Long Island, Austin Peay, Wichita State, Boise State, Northern Illinois and Jacksonville State. Teams will play three 18-hole rounds Monday through Wednesday.
UL is the top returning finisher in the field from last year when the Cajuns carded a four-under 289-285-286—860 score and had two players finish in the individual top 20. One of those, senior Malan Potgieter, finished tied for 17th last year but has five top-four finishes in six tournaments this year.
Potgieter will ride a hot streak into the Lake Las Vegas event. The Kirkwood, South Africa native is the Cajuns' fall-season stroke leader with a 68.87 average and is ranked 72nd in the national Scoreboard rankings, and tied for third at the Border Olympics with a 67-71-71—209 (-4) score. One week prior to that spring opener, he tied for sixth in the Africa Amateur Championships played in his native South Africa.
He'll be joined in the lineup by fellow senior Jean Louis du Plessis, junior Carter Schmitt and freshmen James Holtsclaw and Drew Sliman. Schmitt had the shot of the tournament in last week's Border Olympics when he holed out for an ace on the 168-yard par-three 14th hole in round three at Laredo Country Club on his way to a 22nd-place individual finish.
Sophomore Jay Brooks and freshman Nathan Schuldt will play as individuals. Sliman said one advantage of serving as tournament host is that he can play all seven of his available roster players in the event.
"We can sort of dictate the field," he said. "We have a smaller roster right now, so we chose to give all seven of them a chance to play prior to us coming back home for the Louisiana Classics."
UL will host the 41st annual Louisiana Classics in two weeks on March 8-10 at Oakbourne Country Club, with a 14-team field taking part in the Cajuns' only home appearance of the season.
Players Mentioned
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