LAKE ELMO, Minn. -- Paced by a career-best performance by senior Matt Alford (Orono, Minn.), the Golden Bears turned in a strong second round effort and finished seventh at the Concordia University Fall Invitational held at Tartan Park Golf Club on Sunday and Monday. Alford shot a career-low round of 72 in the first round of the invite and would add his third-best round on the second day with a 76 to finish tied for fourth with a 148, just four strokes over par at the Par 72 course. BOX SCORE
As a team, Concordia's blue team improved in the second round by nine strokes, the top improvement by any of the nine teams competing, shooting a 313+304=617 to finish +41, three strokes behind Division I-member North Dakota. The second through seventh place finishing teams were separated by a total of 10 strokes, as Minnesota State shot a 304+303=607.
The CU gold squad finished just behind the blue group after firing a 317 on the second day, with both teams shooting a 313 on the first 18 holes. Alford and his top-five performance were on behalf of the gold lineup.
For the blue team's individuals, freshman Jeremy Tetrault (Forest Lake, Minn.) was only three strokes behind Alford and plus seven for the tournament and finished tied for 15th. Sophomore Nick Jarrett (Woodbury, Minn.) closed out in 23rd (+10) while sophomore Kyle Lewis (Forest Lake, Minn.) and senior Nick Gallaway (White Bear Lake, Minn.) tied for 28th (+12).
St. Cloud State took first at the invite with a commanding performance of 294+290=584 to finish eight strokes over par as a team. They were paced by the top three finishers along with a fourth who tied for sixth. Taking medalist honors at the invite was SCSU's Beau Anderson with a 70+72=142. The Huskies' Danny Anderson came on strong at the end with a 76+68+144 while Dustin Delmonico took third at 71+75=146.
The CU Fall Invitational wraps-up the fall portion of the Concordia men's golf schedule. The team will look to rise among the NSIC Championship standings during the Spring season when NCAA play closes out the year.
