By Ajan Caneda

Writer

Looking to bounce back from their 10th place finish at the Cornell Invitational, the men’s golf team traveled to Williamsburg, Va. on Monday and Tuesday to compete with 12 other teams in the Joe Agee Invitational. The Bison finished eighth on Monday but put on a strong showing on Tuesday that helped them finish fifth in the tournament with an overall score of 909. Will Bachman ’12 and Schuyler Stitzer ’14 tied individually for 17th overall with a final score of 227.  Dan Bernard ’13 placed 30th with a score of 230 and J.J Szmadzinski ’13 who finished one stroke behind.

Monday proved to be a tough test for the Bison as they struggled to move up in the pack. Longwood got off to a commanding lead posting a score of 578 which was 20 strokes ahead of High Point who finished second at the end of Monday. Bachman tied for 26th and posted a 153 while Stitzer and Peter Scialabba ’15 missed the top 30 finishing with scores of 154 and 155, respectively.

“I believe the guys now realize that physically and skill-wise they can compete with all teams at this level,” Head Coach Jim Cotner said.

The Orange and Blue improved their ranking on Tuesday. Only 10 strokes separated the fifth from eighth place teams and the Bison took advantage. Delaware posted a 306 in the final round as they dropped to eighth after finishing seventh on Friday. William and Mary placed seventh with a score of 915 overall. The Bison were able to move their way up to fifth after they posted a 291 in the final round which was the lowest collective score of the third round.

“The third and final round at the Joe Agee Invitational was our season’s best. It was the type of performance that I expect from the members of our team,”  Cotner said. “It was the most locked in mentally that I have seen our team in the past two years. Hopefully this focus will carry over and now be a permanent part of their games.”

The Bison head to Fairfax, Va. to compete in the George Mason Intercollegiate next Friday.