VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.— The Montreat men's golf team participated in its first team tournament of the spring semester as the Cavaliers competed at the Marlins Invitational at Cypress Point Country Club in Virginia Beach, Va. on Monday and Tuesday. At the event hosted by NCAA Division III Virginia Wesleyan University, the Cavs ended third out of 12 schools and tallied three top-10 individual finishes, including Hunter Vowell's runner-up placement.
 
Following Monday's round, Montreat held the third position as a team thanks to a score of 298, only four strokes back of the hosts. Vowell and Alex Murphy captained the squad through 18 holes as both recorded a trio of birdies to land in the top 10. Vowell limited himself to just two holes over par, shooting a 71 to tie for third individually through the first round, while Murphy shot a 75 to sit knotted for eighth.
 
Aaron Elmore and Luca Rodrigues both carded a 76 in the opening round as the former registered three birdies and the latter notched one hole under par to tie for 14^th and round out the team's counted scores for the day. Colton Clevenger finished with a 77, tying for the 19^th-best score and Atley Gabriel took 78 shots to conclude the first round as he tied for 23^rd heading into Tuesday.
 
On day two, Vowell utilized the third-best round of any golfer to claim his second-place result out of 78 athletes. The Gastonia, N.C. native, who held the outright lead multiple times throughout the round, notched three birdies and an eagle to shoot a 74 and end one over par for the tournament.

"I felt good. I didn't have the finish I wanted but still have to take the positives from it," said Vowell. "I was pretty calm until about three holes left and then nerves kicked in a little bit. I'm excited for the future. We are a young team and we're going to go far."
 
Murphy joined Vowell in the top 10 by tying for eighth thanks to a 78 on Tuesday. He also recorded four holes under par, all birdies, on his second 18 holes. Gabriel rounded out the top-10 efforts for the Cavaliers as he improved with a 76 to tie for 10^th with three other golfers.
 
Elmore recorded a second-round 79, holding a tie for 14^th and claiming the final scoring position for the Cavs on the last day of the event. Wrapping up the competition for Montreat were Clevenger and Rodrigues, who shot an 89 and 90, respectively. Both golfers finished knotted for 54^th. As a team, the Cavaliers shot a 307 on Tuesday, coming up just three shots short of second-place Virginia Wesleyan and 11 strokes behind winners Ave Maria.
 
The Cavaliers also had a pair of golfers compete as individuals at the tournament. Britton Smith shot a first-round 86 before repeating his score on Tuesday to end in 66^th position, while James Griffiths totaled a 98 on his initial 18 holes prior to a second-round score of 97 to finish 78^th.

"I am proud of the men for their efforts as we had four freshmen and two seniors in the starting lineup," mentioned head coach Daniel Kehler. "The freshmen are starting to get what it takes to play at this level as we had two finish in the top 10. We need to get ready for the conference championships now as we try to secure a bid for the national tournament."
 
For full results from the Marlins Invitational, click here.
 
Men's golf now prepares for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Direct Qualifier at Barnsley Resort in Adairsville, Ga. on April 22 and 23.