The Binghamton golf team opened up the spring portion of its season with a fifth place finish — out of nine teams — at the SHU Spring Break Invitational over the weekend.

“Overall, it was a great week,” said Binghamton head coach Bernie Herceg. “Heading into it, I thought the guys were all prepared as much as we could in the short time we had. It was satisfying. We definitely took some positives from the tournament.”

On day one of the competition, BU had a strong showing with three Bearcats finding themselves tied for 10th place on the individual leaderboard. Fifth-year Evan Sitts, junior Ryan Millevoi and sophomore Brandon Conner each shot 73 to crack the top 10 after the first round of play.

“For the first round of the year, it was great,” Herceg said. “[Sitts, Millevoi and Conner] held the team there to be in fifth place … they all played pretty solid. [Conner] didn’t have his best stuff, but he hung in there literally all day … [Sitts] played really well. He just couldn’t get any putts to fall in … For [Millevoi], it was a great start of the year for him.”

Other Bearcats competing on the first day included sophomore Sean Shen and junior Tynan Jones who had identical showings in round one. Both golfers recorded a score of 79, ending the day tied for 45th place. Additionally, junior Harrison Blech took a score of 84 going into day two. As a team, BU finished day one tied with Hartford for fifth place, shooting 10 over par with 298 strokes.

“[Shen] played really solid, consistent all day,” Herceg said. “[Blech’s] comeback after day one [was great]. A little uncharacteristic of his play on day one. He helped us out on day two, so it was great to see.”

On day two, Binghamton’s trio finishing the top 10 after round one were unable to replicate their performances. Millevoi earned the Bearcats’ best placement on the individual leaderboard, finishing tied for 14th place with a score of five over par. Conner was not far behind him, capturing a tied-for-16th-place finish, carding a score of six over par. Lastly, Sitts fell 28 spots on the leaderboard, finishing tied for 38th place with a score of 12 over par.

“Just for [Millevoi] himself, confidence-wise, especially just coming out of the gate of the winter and stuff, it was great to see,” Herceg said. “I’m really happy for him. Hopefully, he can ride some of that momentum going into next week.”

On the other hand, Shen and Blech both climbed the leaderboard, with stronger performances on day two. Shen scored 76 on day two to finish tied for 33rd place with a score of 13 over par. Blech improved with a score of 77, good enough for 51st place with a score of 17 over par.

“For the tournament itself on day two, the conditions, the greens were just difficult to make,” Herceg said. “Our putting was probably what held us back, we had too many three putts. It is definitely grass that we’re not accustomed to.”

The Bearcats’ recorded score of 306 on the second day was enough for them to retain fifth place in the team standings, as the team finished with an overall score of 604/28 over par. Purdue Fort Wayne went on to win the invitational with a score of 577, just one over par.

“This is one of our best spring schedules that we were able to put together,” Herceg said. “It was really just to build up so we could really give the [Northeast Conference (NEC)] a good shot at it … I think the competition we have set up, you know, going into April and then into conferences is really going to help us.

Binghamton will continue the spring season at the Carpetbagger Classic, starting on Saturday, March 16, and running through Sunday, March 17.