ADAIRSVILLE, Ga.— The Montreat men's golf team concluded its 2021-22 season on Tuesday with the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Direct Qualifier, a three-round tournament at the Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville, Ga. Playing on Monday and Tuesday, the Cavaliers shot a combined team score of 953, good for a sixth-place finish and the program's best AAC tournament effort.
 
After 18 holes of action, the Cavaliers sat just four strokes behind Point University and Tennessee Wesleyan University for the top spot on the team leaderboard. Montreat totaled a first-round score of 303, its third-lowest 18-hole score this season and its best 18-hole score at Barnsley Gardens Resort by 18 strokes.
 
Ben Leonard and Cole Wiley paced Montreat through the initial 18 holes as both Cavaliers shot a 74, good for a sixth-place tie in the 62-golfer field. Aaron Elmore (77) and Hayden Zitzewitz (78) weren't far behind their fellow teammates as they finished the first round in a tie for 18^th and 22^nd, respectively.
 
Ryan Poblacion was the fifth and final Cavalier on the course Monday, carding an opening-round score of 85 to enter the clubhouse in a tie for 53^rd.
 
Round two also came on Monday, and the Cavs couldn't quite replicate their spectacular showing from the first 18 holes. Montreat needed 323 strokes to get through another set of 18 holes, meaning it ended the initial day of competition squarely in sixth place (626), 14 shots behind Truett McConnell University for fifth.
 
Zitzewitz and Elmore flashed their consistency in the second round, shooting identical or near-identical scores compared to their first 18 holes. For Zitzewitz, scoring another 78 meant moving up five spots into a tie for 17^th. Elmore joined him there on the leaderboard by carding a second-round 79.
 
Poblacion pieced together the third-best round by a Cavalier on his second 18 holes, shooting an 82 to move up one spot into 52^nd place.
 
Leonard and Wiley posted identical scores in round one, and the pair shot just one stroke differently in round two. Leonard, a native of Morganton, N.C., posted an 84 to enter the final day of play tied for 26^th. Meanwhile, Wiley shot an 85, meaning he concluded Monday tied for 29^th on the individual leaderboard.
 
On Tuesday, Zitzewitz shot a 78 for the third time this tournament. Those three consecutive scores of 78 paid off for the St. Johns, Fla. native as he finished in a tie for 12^th, just three strokes back of a top-10 finish. Wiley also carded a 78 on Tuesday, completing his 54 holes with a total score of 237, good for a 19^th-place tie.
 
Elmore and Leonard wrapped up their tournaments within a single shot of each other on the leaderboard. Elmore's 86 in round three brought his three-day total to 242, while Leonard's final round score of 85 pushed his final numbers to 243. Ultimately, Elmore tied for 36^th individually, and Leonard tied for 39^th.
 
Poblacion registered an 89 on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for 54^th overall. The Jacksonville, Fla. native totaled a 256 across the three rounds of action and closed the book on Montreat's best team finish at the AAC Direct Qualifier in program history.
 
For a complete list of results from the AAC Direct Qualifier, click here.
 
The Montreat men's golf team now enters the offseason with the hopes of continuing to build on an impressive spring showing before competition resumes in the fall of 2022.