RISING SUN, Md. – The Ursinus College men's golf team battled chilly, windy conditions to post a fourth-place showing in the Eastern Invitational on Sunday.
Senior Matthew Holmes paced the Bears with an 81 (+10) in his first round of the spring, logging seven pars and a birdie on the par-71, 6749-yard Chesapeake Bay Golf Club.
The host Eagles tied with Stevens for the team title with a 334 (+50), followed by Messiah (341), Ursinus (357), Cairn (395), and Centenary (405).
Holmes tied for fourth overall in a field of 33 golfers, landing just three strokes behind individual champion Frank Szucs of Stevens. He scored par on five of the final seven holes, including three in a row from 12 through 14, and finished with a 39 on the back nine.
The rest of the Bear contingent was bunched closely with freshman Bennett Collins (91), junior Anthony Barbine (92), and sophomores Ryan Crawford (93) and Max Schwartz (93) separated by only two shots.
Crawford carded back-to-back birdies on the par-5 6th and par-4 7th holes, while Schwartz scored a 2 on the par-3 2nd. Barbine registered four pars, while Collins had three.
The Bears get back on the course with the Elizabethtown Blue Jay Classic on Thursday, April 7 at Hershey Country Club's East Course.