Men's Golf Places Third in North/South Intercollegiate Invitational

Tuesday, March 9

Jacksonville Beach, FL (Jacksonville Beach CC)

All Day

Florida Atlantic

North-South Invitational (Jacksonville Beach CC)

Men's Golf Places Third in North/South Intercollegiate Invitational

3/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

March 9, 2010

Final Results

The Florida Atlantic University men's golf team came close to winning its first tournament of the spring season, but couldn't hold off some talented teams to finish third in the two-day North/South Intercollegiate Invitational hosted by Butler University at the Jacksonville Beach Country Club.

FAU enjoyed a slim one-stroke lead over Laval College heading into Tuesday's final round. However, it took 293 strokes for the Owls' four-player team to complete the last 18 holes, finishing the tournament with a 576 composite score. That was three strokes behind champion Laval and one stroke from second-place Armstrong Atlantic State University. There were 15 teams in the tournament.

"It's disappointing when you come this close to winning a tournament . . . it was hard to take when just a few strokes separate you from the title," said Men's Golf Head Coach Angelo Sands. "These guys showed a lot of heart today to battle back when the circumstances weren't going their way."

Senior Ben Silverman came back strong in Tuesday's round, shooting a two-under-par 69 score to finish third individually.

"I got off to a good start with a birdie on the first two holes, but found myself at even par after 14 holes," noted Silverman. "I used my mental strength, because I was in the same situation on Monday and couldn't capitalize."

Sands highlighted the performance of sophomore Justin Thompson, who got a birdie in three of his last four holes to shoot a one-over-par 72 to finish with a 143 score. That was good to tie for fourth individually.

"I managed to birdie the 14th hole (believed to be the hardest hole on the course). That gave me a boost of confidence and got me right back on track to finish the round strong," Thompson said.

Rounding out the Owls' performances were junior Kelly McHugh, who had 75 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 10th place individually at 145; sophomore Carl McCauley, who finished with a 151 score after having a one-under-par 70 during Monday's first round; and sophomore Michael Baskovich, who carded a final round score of 77.

FAU will return to the links on Monday, March 15 when it participates in the University of Central Florida Tournament in Orlando.

Team Scores:

1) Laval 573; 2) Armstrong Atlantic 575; 3) Florida Atlantic 576; 4) Jacksonville Univ. 587; 5) Appalachian State 588; 6) Florida Gulf Coast Univ. 592; 7) Eckerd College 596; 8) Morehead State Univ. 597; 9) Georgia Southwestern State Univ. 602; 10) Bethune Cookman Univ. 609; 11) IPFW 615; 12) Wittenberg Univ. 628; 13) Butler Univ. 630; T-14) Creighton Univ. and Florida A&M 631

Individual scores:

3) Ben Silverman 141; T-4) Justin Thompson 143; T-10) Kelly McHugh 145; Carl McCauley 151; Michael Baskovich 153