A shortened tournament may have helped the men’s golf team this weekend as the Hoyas finished tied for sixth place at the East Carolina University Intercollegiate, played at Ironwood Golf and Country Club in Greenville, NC.

“There was a very strong field, which boasted a few teams ranked in the top 75 in the nation. Our goal was to play quality golf,” Head Coach Thomas Hunter said.

In Saturday’s opening round, Georgetown sophomore Vincenzo Salina posted one of his best rounds of the season thus far, leading the way for the Hoyas with an even-par 72, putting him in eighth place in the individual standings after round one. Salina was followed by the junior duo of Garrett Logan and Patrick Sherry, who carded a pair of 3-over 75’s. Captain Tim Hager posted a relatively disappointing 5-over 77 after a strong performance at last week’s Lacrosse Homes Collegiate Invitational. Co-captain and senior David Praet scored a 9-over 81 as Georgetown’s fifth player.

Rainy weather prevented the golfers from playing in the second scheduled round on Saturday, so Georgetown ‘s combined team score of 11-over 299 left them in a tie for eighth place with Seton Hall, Barton College and Longwood University at the end of day one. The Hoyas went into Sunday’s second and final round 13 strokes off the pace-setters, Newberry College.

“Our opening round could have been better, but a few lapses down the stretch kept us from a great score – our 299 left us in a log jam in the middle of the pack,” Hunter said.

Rested after a shorter first day of the tournament, the Hoyas tore up the course on Sunday. Hunter proclaimed that the second day was “tremendous” for the team. All five Georgetown golfers posted scores in the 70s, and three Hoyas ended the tournament in the top 25 individually.

Sherry led the team in the second round, compiling his best round of the season, a 1-under par 71. Sherry’s combined two-round score of 2-over 146 gave him a share of 18th place in the individual standings.

Salina fired another even-par round of 72, giving him a tournament score of 144 and the best individual finish for the Hoyas at 12th place. Logan also improved on his first-round score, carding another even-par 72, making his total score for the tournament 3-over 147 and placing him in a tie for 25th place. Hager bounced back from his difficult first round, shooting the Hoyas’ third even-par round of the day. And while his score didn’t count towards the team total, Praet showed the most improvement from the first to second round, bettering his first-round score by eight strokes with a 1-over par round of 73.

Hunter was especially pleased with the team’s second-round performances.

“The entire team played well. Our numbers were very consistent,” he said. “Anytime a 73 is not one of our `counting scores’ it means we have had a very special round of golf.”

Georgetown’s combined team score of one-under 287 on day two was the best team showing of the season, and the second-best team score of the day. St. John’s bested the Hoyas by nine strokes with a team total of 278.

With their stellar second-round performance, the Hoyas’ total tournament score of 10-over 586 moved the team up from eighth place in the team standings to sixth place, 14-shots back from St. John’s first place 572.

“Sometimes you never know, but a round like that can help the guys understand how good a golf team they can be,” Hunter said. “When things fall in place like they did in this past round, we can be a very dangerous golf team.”

Georgetown’s next tournament will be the Princeton Invitational this weekend in New Jersey. “It’s all about consistency and doing this round after round,” Hunter said. “Let’s hope the momentum carries through for the Princeton Invitational and the Big East Championship.”

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