Men's Golf Hosts The Mount St. Mary's Spring Invitational On Monday And Tuesday

COMPETITION: Mount St. Mary's at Mount St. Mary's Spring Invitational
WHEN: Mon-Tue, Apr. 16-18, 2012; Tee Time 7:30 a.m. Monday; 8 a.m. Tuesday
WHERE: Quail Valley Golf Course, Littlestown, Pa,

COMPETING TEAMS: Fairfield, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, St. Francis (N.Y.), Wagner
MOUNT COMPETITORS: Tonny Aizpun, Kevin Ellison, Andrew Lawton, Ryan Lee, Danny Michalek, Devin O'Grady, Ryan Triller
2011 Team Champion: Monmouth (301-297-298=896)
2011 Individual Champion: C.G. Mercatoris, Robert Morris (68-72-72=212)

opening tee... The Mount men's golf team will host the Mount St. Mary's Spring Invitational on Monday and Tuesday. Along with the Mount, Fairfield, Robert Morris, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Wagner will also be competing in the event. Teams will tee off at 7:30 a.m. on Monday and play 36-contineous holes before playing a final round on Tuesday starting at 8 a.m.

last time on that green… Danny Michalek finished sixth to lead the Mount St. Mary's men's golf team to a fourth-place standing at the Mount St. Mary's Spring Invitational on Apr. 19, 2011. Michalek came into the final round with a score of one over 145 after registering a 72 in the first round and a 73 in the second round on Monday. The junior carded a four over round of 76 in a rain-filled final round to finish with a score of 221, nine strokes behind the medalist. Tonny Aizpun finished in 10th place in his first home tournament with a score of 225. Kevin Ellison (18th place, 233), Ray Hyre (28th place, 239) and Andrew Lawton (28th place, 239) rounded out the Mount's team competitors. Jake Wetzel (20th place, 234), Sage Smith (22nd place, 2345, Devin O'Grady (33rd place, 242) and Ryan Lee (48th place, 254) competed as individuals in the Mountaineers home event.

last time out… Devin O'Grady finished 11th to lead the Mount St. Mary's men's golf team to a ninth-place finish at the Towson Fireline Invitational on Apr. 1. O'Grady posted a 76 in the final round after notching one of the best single-round scores in program history with a five-under round of 67 on Saturday. The sophomore carded a 75 in the first round and finished the three-day event with a two-over total of 218, nine strokes behind the medalist. O'Grady had seven birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey in the three rounds. Ryan Triller (24th place, 222), Danny Michalek (56th place, 227), Kevin Ellison (65th place, 229) and Tonny Aizpun (70th place, 230) rounded out the Mount's five competitors.

next on tap... The Mount will tune up for the Northeast Conference Championships at the Navy Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.

the schedule… The Mount will compete in five tournaments before the NEC Championships on May 4-6. The squad starts the spring with its first trip to the Gary Freeman B-CU Invitational on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mount St. Mary's remains in the south with a return trip to the Lonnie Barton Invitational on Mar. 5-6. The squad then heads to the Fireline Towson Invitational on Mar. 31-Apr. 1 before hosting the Mount St. Mary's Spring Invitational on Apr. 16-17. The Mountaineers tune up for the NEC Championships at the Navy Spring Invitational on Apr. 21-22.

nice start… The Mount finished second at the Rehoboth Beach Invitational on Sept. 26, marking the squad's best finish since placing second at the ECAC Championships on Oct. 1-2, 2010. The team has posted a team score of 300 or better eight of the 10 rounds this season. Sophomore Kevin Ellison became the first Mount golfer since Andrew Hill in 2003 to win and event after finishing as the medalist at the ECAC Championships and helping the team to its first team title since 2007. The squad concluded the fall with a second-place standing at the Robert Morris Pittsburgh Airport Colonial Classic on Oct. 11.

all-tournament returner… Sophomore Devin O'Grady finished ninth at the NEC Championships in 2011 to earn All-Tournament honors. It marks the 19th time in program history the Mount had a player place in the Top-10 while O'Grady becomes the 14th different player to accomplish the feat and the first since Brad Gerick in 2009, who also finished ninth in that event. The three-round score of 222 is the third-best three-round mark in the championships in program history. By finishing in the Top-10, O'Grady was named to the NEC All-Tournament team. As a team, the Mount notched its best finish since 1998 with a third-place standing.

new to the mountain... Freshman Ryan Triller joins the team for the 2011-12 season. The freshman made his collegiate debut at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate.

about the coach… Farrell, who enters his third season as the men's golf head coach and first as the women's golf head coach, guided the men's golf program to a third-place finish at the Northeast Conference Men's Golf Championships last season. It was the squad's best finish since the 1998 season. Under Farrell's tutelage, the men's golf team also finished second at the ECAC Championships (Oct. 1-2, 2010) and fourth in the Penn Quaker Invitational (Apr. 3-4, 2011) last season. In Farrell's first season, the men finished fourth at the NEC Championships. Farrell was a standout golfer on the Mountaineers men's golf team from 2004-08. He finished in the Top-10 at the NEC Championships in both his junior and senior seasons to earn spots on the All-NEC team.  Farrell is one of five players in team history to earn finish in the Top-10 at the NEC Championships twice in his career and his three-round score of 220 at the 2008 NEC Championships is still the record for three rounds at the NEC Championships.

Mount St. Mary's Spring Invitational Recordbook

Team Champions at Quail Valley
2007 Longwood (293-293-295=881)
2008 Longwood (288-287-288=863)
2009 Army (295-296=591)
2010 Robert Morris (306-304-311=921)
2011 Monmouth (301-297-298=896)

Individual Champions at Quail Valley
2009 Matt Kremel, Army (68-71=141)
2010 Brock Pompeani, Robert Morris (75-76-76=227)
2011 C.G. Mercatoris, Robert Morris (68-72-72=212)

Quail Valley Men's Golf Top-5

Individual Single Round:
66 Matt Krembel Army 4-18-08 (2nd Round)
66 Matt Krembel Army 4-19-08 (3rd Round)
67 Greg Nordtveit, Saint Peter's 4-18-11 (2nd Round)
67 Scooter Buhrman Longwood 4-18-08 (1st Round)
68 C.G. Mercatoris, Robert Morris 4-18-11 (1st Round)
68 Matt Krembel Army 4-20-09 (1st Round)
68 Ray Hyre Mount St. Mary's 4-18-08 (1st Round)
68 Greg Nicolson Long Island 4-18-08 (2nd Round)

Individual Two Rounds:
139 Ray Hyre Mount St. Mary's 4-18-08
140 C.G. Mercatoris, Robert Morris, 4-18-11
140 Matt Krembel Army 4-18-08
140 Dan Abbondandolo Siena 4-18-08
141 Jason Del Rosso, Fordham 4-18-11
141 Matt Krembel Army 4-20-09
141 Greg Nicolson Long Island 4-18-08

Individual Three Rounds:
206 Matt Krembel Army 4-18/19-08
212 C.G. Mercatoris, Robert Morris 4/18-19-11
212 Scooter Buhrman Longwood 4-18/19-08
212 Greg Nicolson Long Island 4-18/19-08
213 Ray Hyre Mount St. Mary's 4-18/19-08

Team Single Round:
287 Longwood 4-18-08 (2nd Round)
288 Longwood 4-18-08 (1st Round)
288 Longwood 4-19-08 (3rd Round)
289 Mount St. Mary's 4-20-07 (2nd Round)
289 Long Island 4-20-07 (2nd Round)

Team Two Rounds:
575 Longwood 4-18-08
586 Longwood 4-20-07
590 Mount St. Mary's 10-19/20-07
591 Army 4-20/21-09
591 Army 4-18-08
593 Fordham 4-18-11
593 Long Island 4-18-08
593 Long Island 4-18-08

Team Three Rounds:
863 Longwood 4-18/19-08
881 Longwood 4-20/21-07
883 Army 4-18/19-08
891 Bryant 4-18/19-08
892 Temple 4-18/19-08