Oct. 23, 2012
BEALLSVILLE, Md. -
The Nittany Lion men's golf team finished off their 2012 fall campaign strong with a third place finish out of 12 teams at the Georgetown Intercollegiate at the Members Club at Four Streams. Penn State was able to edge Xavier by one stroke to improve its standing after day one, posting an 871 through 54 holes of play (297-286-288).
Coach Greg Nye praised his team's ability to move on from round one and improve the rest of the way to give the fall season a solid conclusion. "After a very average start in round one, these guys showed game and rallied as a team to finish this fall off with two excellent rounds."
Four out of five members of the Penn State lineup finished in the top-25 overall. Sophomore Jens Talbert (Little Rock, Ark.) and freshman Chris Houston (Gilford, N.H.) tied for 8th place with a 3-over-par tally of 216 after 54 holes. Sophomore Xander McDonald-Smith (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) improved 17 places with his performance in day two of the tournament, where he shot a career low round of 69. McDonald-Smith's 218 mark earned him a tied-for-15th place finish overall.
Senior Jay Woodward (Bridgeport, W. Va.) also upgraded his ranking on the leaderboard after completing the last 18 holes of play. His 221 total placed him tied for 24th, improving eight spots from day one. Freshman Geoff Vartelas (Cromwell, Conn.) struggled on day two of the tournament, posting an 83 in round three which dropped him to a 63rd place individual finish.
The University of Toledo never relinquished its lead, finishing in first place with an 11-over-par 863 team score through three rounds. However, day one leader Brian ChurchillSmith of Eastern Michigian fell to Toledo's Chris Selfridge who earned the tournament crown with his 5-under-par tally of 208.
The Georgetown Intercollegiate concluded fall play for Penn State. For continued information on the Nittany Lion men's golf program, follow @PennStateMGolf on Twitter and like the Penn State Men's Golf page on Facebook.