GAINESVILLE, Ga.— The Montreat College men's golf team opened its 2026 spring slate on Monday and Tuesday by playing a pair of rounds at the Golden Tiger Collegiate, hosted by Brenau University. With 36 holes of play at the Chattahoochee Golf Club officially in the books, the Cavaliers snagged a fourth-place finish out of 10 squads.
 
Overall, the Cavs totaled a team mark of 639, which was one better than Truett McConnell University's B team and five back of Emmanuel University's B unit.
 
Day one saw Montreat turn in a 327 as a squad, tied for fifth-best during the opening round. Alex Murphy paced the Cavaliers by carding a 5-over-par 77 through 18 holes, good for eighth out of 60 golfers midway through the tournament. The Monroe, N.C. native notched two birdies and nine pars during Monday's action.
 
Austin Lineberger sat in a tie for 16^th after one round, utilizing 10 pars to shoot an 81. Cooper Crump needed just two more strokes than Lineberger, notching a birdie and seven pars to tie for 27^th through day one.
 
Matt Cardaropoli made his Montreat debut and closed out the Cavs' scoring on Monday. His initial 18-hole tally of 86 featured a team-best 11 pars, seven of which came on the back nine. Cardaropoli concluded the first day in a tie for 43^rd. Colton Clevenger also represented the Cavaliers in round one, registering a birdie and four pars to enter the clubhouse tied for 50^th overall (88).
 
Montreat's adjustments between day one and day two paid dividends as the Cavs trimmed 15 strokes off their round score, turning in a 312 on Tuesday. Clevenger made the most of his chances on the final 18, carding a 1-over-par 73 thanks to two birdies and 14 pars. The Hendersonville, N.C. native shot 2-under on the back nine as part of his superb outing, and he climbed all the way up into a tie for 24^th with his 161 total score.
 
Crump had the second-best performance among the Cavaliers competing on Tuesday. Eleven pars and one birdie powered a score of 77 during Crump's last 18 holes, moving him into a tie for 21^st with a 160 overall.
 
Cardaropoli and Lineberger capped off Montreat's scoring account for round two. The former shot an 80 behind 10 pars and a birdie, while the latter notched an 82 with seven pars and two birdies. Lineberger's two-day mark of 163 meant he tied for 30^th on the leaderboard, while Cardaropoli's 166 enabled a tie for 38^th.
 
While his day two effort of 83 didn't affect the team's score, Murphy still tied for the squad's best individual finish in Gainesville, Ga. The junior parred half of his last 18 holes, bringing his final tally to 160, good enough to tie for 21^st alongside Crump.
 
Shayn Tarolla competed as an individual at the Golden Tiger Collegiate. The freshman from Las Vegas scored an 84 in both round one and round two thanks to one birdie and 12 pars. Tarolla ultimately tied for 40^th on the leaderboard with his 168.
 
For a look at results from the Golden Tiger Collegiate, click here.
 
The Montreat College men's golf team is back in action in less than two weeks at the Sandhills Flyers Spring Intercollegiate, which will be held on March 16-17 at the Longleaf Golf & Family Club in Southern Pines, N.C.