Over the weekend, the Binghamton golf team competed in the Temple/Cornell Fall Invitational. Out of the 15 teams participating the Bearcats finished 10th, with a combined score of 35 over par for 595 strokes.

“There’s definitely some positives we got out of this weekend,” said Binghamton head coach Bernie Herceg. “Hopefully we can start trending in a little bit stronger direction. We made some more birdies, we scored a little bit better … So there’s a lot of good things that came out of the tournament.”

BU got off to a slow start on day one of golf, as the team shot 19 over par for the round. Sophomore Tynan Jones and senior Evan Sitts led the way with a pair of 74s on Saturday. Additionally, sophomore Shawn Colella, who was participating as an individual, had the lowest score of the day for the Bearcats with a score of 73, three strokes over par. Colella finished the day tied for 29th.

“[Colella] has been struggling a bit with his swing and his scoring,” Herceg said. “So I didn’t have him on the team, but I wanted him to compete to try and get his game back … Hopefully this gives him a little jump start … It’d be great to have him in the mix and playing to his potential.”

Rounding out the rest of the Binghamton team was a trio of freshmen that included Brandon Conner, Sean Shen and Harrison Blech. Conner posted a score of 75 strokes while Shen and Blech both carded 76s on Saturday.

“We have six players that are either sophomores or freshmen,” Herceg said. “We are a young team and the more experience I can get these freshmen, definitely the better it’s gonna be for our future. But they’re very experienced and they’re talented, it’s just a little bit different playing college golf. They’re only gonna get better and better, so I’m excited for our future because of [Conner, Shen and Blech]. All talented players.”

At the end of day one, BU sat in 11th place. Rhode Island took a commanding lead over the rest of the field, finishing at six under par as a team. The next closest team was Temple, who was still trailing by five shots at one under par.

Day two saw the Bearcats improve by three strokes as a team. They combined for 296 strokes to elevate their place from 11th to 10th, overtaking Penn (B).

Blech led the Sunday charge for Binghamton, posting one over par for 71 strokes. He finished the tournament tied for 27th at seven over. Jones joined Blech at seven over as he closed out his tournament with a 73 on day two. Colella was unable to replicate his score from the prior day. However, a score of 75 strokes took the sophomore to an eight-over final score to finish tied for 33rd. Sitts followed close behind at nine over to tie for 39th. Conner finished tied for 61st while Shen ended up in 78th place.

“[Blech] came back,” Herceg said. “He fought back all day, made a few birdies. On the 17th hole he made an unbelievable 50-foot putt that put him right back where he wanted to be, close to even par … It really shows his potential and what he’s gonna be able to do for us.”

Despite holding a five-stroke lead heading into Sunday, Rhode Island was unable to maintain its advantage. Temple overtook the Rams with a two-over-par performance as a team to finish in first place with a final score of one over. The Bearcats tied for the seventh-best score out of all teams competing on day two.

“We just needed to score a little bit better out there for this event,” Herceg said. “I liked the course. It fit some of the guys’ eyes quite well and I think it’s going to help us going into [Dartmouth Invitational] because of the positives we came away from there. I really feel that we’re gonna trend more toward the right direction. Guys are gonna work hard this week to come together even more.”

BU will return to action next weekend, starting on Saturday, Sept. 24 to compete in the Dartmouth Invitational. Tee times are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Montcalm Golf Club in Enfield, New Hampshire.