Men's Golf Heads To Towson Fireline Invitational This Weekend

COMPETITION: Mount St. Mary's at Towson Fireline Invitational
WHEN: Fri-Sun, Mar. 30-Apr. 1, 2012
WHERE: Prospect Bay Country Club, Grasonville, Md.

COMPETING TEAMS: Bethune-Cookman, Binghamton, Canisius, Central Connecticut, Colgate, Cornell, Drexel, Fairfield, Fairleigh-Dickinson, Hartford, Lafayette, LIU Brooklyn, Loyola, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, Northern Colorado, Penn State, Sacred Heart, Seton Hall, St. Bonaventure, St. Peter's, Towson
2011 Team Champion: Kent State (879)
2011 Individual Champion: John Hahn, Kent State (215)

opening tee... The Mount men's golf team returns to the green for the first time in 24 days at the Towson Fireline Invitational starting on Friday. It will be the squad's second appearance in the tournament and the first since 2010.

last time on that green… Brad Gerick finished 66th to lead the Mount St. Mary's men's golf team to a 19th-place standing at the Fireline Towson Invitational on Mar. 29, 2010. Gerick posted a 78 and 77 in the first two rounds on Saturday and then registered an 83 in the final round on Sunday to finish in 66th place with a 238, 25 strokes behind the medalist. Ray Hyre (83rd place, 242), Dan Michalek (92nd place, 249), Brandon Powers (92nd place, 249) and Jake Wetzel (96th place, 255) rounded out the Mount's competitors. The Mount finished in 19th place after posting a 323 in the first round, a 327 in the second round and a 325 in the final round for a total of 975.

last time out… Danny Michalek finished 12th to lead the Mount St. Mary's men's golf team to a fifth-place standing at the Lonnie Barton Invitational on Tuesday. Tonny Aizpun was the squad's top finisher in the event after placing fifth as an individual. Michalek posted an 82 in the first round and a 76 in the second round to card a 158 in the two rounds to place 12th, 15 strokes behind the medalist. Aizpun posted an 80 and a 73 to finish with a total of 153 and in fifth place, 10 strokes behind the winner. Andrew Lawton (19th place, 160), Devin O'Grady (23rd place, 161), Kevin Ellison (25th place, 163) and Ryan Triller (35th place, 171) rounded out the Mount's five team competitors. The Mountaineers carded a 329 in the first round and a 313 in the final round to post a 642 in the event.

next on tap... The Mount will host the Mount St.  Mary's Spring Invitational on Apr. 16-17.

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.