By: William Burns
Men’s Golf has been doing very well, hungry for another chance to get into the NCAA Division II championship tournament again. Last year they placed 15th out of the top 20 teams in the nation. So far this year, the Lions have compiled a solid list of matches. They have finished fourth of 17 teams at the Cougar Invitational in Georgia and placed third out of 12 teams in the Griffin Invitational in Virginia. At their third and most recent tournament, the Shark invitational in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the Lions placed sixth out of 11 teams, their lowest placing all year.
Kevin Johnson had the best round for the Lions in the first meet, shooting four under through three rounds to take fourth place overall at the meet. In their second meet, Alberto Castagnara set the pace for the Lions, coming in at six under, which placed him second overall. In their most recent meet, Castagnara led the pack again, but the Lions faced a much more difficult course. Castagnara finished thirteenth overall, with a score of five over par.
The team just wrapped up their last tournament for the semester at the Copperhead Championship in Palm Harbor Florida. The match concluded October 15, 2019. With the Lions coming in tied for ninth place out of seventeen teams with a team total score of 26 over par.
Oliver Lilliedahl paced the Lions with a seventh-place finish, coming in at one over par after three rounds. Lilliedahl shot a 72 the first round, and an even 71 the second two rounds. Next for the Lions was Castagnara, who finished at plus-seven for the match. Castagnara shot a 69 the first round, but faced hiccups in the second two rounds, finishing at 75 and 76, respectively. This is the Lions lowest finish of the year, but expect them to bounce back once tournaments begin again in early February.
