The Grand Valley State men’s golf team participated in the Saginaw Valley State University Spring Invitational over the weekend at Cherry Blossom Golf Course in Georgetown, Kentucky.

After finishing Saturday, March 18, in first place with a team score of 10-over-par, the Lakers dropped to third place Sunday, posting another 10-over. The Lakers finished behind Bellarmine and Tiffin and placed above 18 other schools.

On the first day of competition, golfers were tasked with overcoming not only each other and the course but also the less than ideal elements. With frosty temperatures and strong winds, the Lakers battled through and had several strong performances with nobody from GVSU posting a number in the 80s on the 72-hole course.

“We battled through today. It was pretty cold, pretty windy, and the guys did a good job of battling through the wind,” said junior Domenic Mancinelli. “It was pretty cold, probably 45 and felt like 30. We had mittens and everything on and sometimes it can be tough to swing through all that gear. We were probably the only team to not put a number in the 80s. That just shows that guys were sticking with the process and not pressing too hard.”

Mancinelli and Bryce Mesnner each posted scores of 74 on Saturday which were good enough to tie for 10th place while teammates Alex Scott shot a 72 (tied for fourth), Alex Nannetti shot a 78 and two others shot 79.

Scott attributed the northern orientation of their typical courses to their ability to deal with the cold over the weekend.

“We’re used to the cold weather, playing up north it happens all the time,” Scott said. “We knew it would be like what we’re used to at home, but it was windier than usual, though it wasn’t anywhere near what we’ve (had before).”

Sunday came with almost no wind though temperatures still sat in the 40s. Despite shooting the same score as a whole, other schools came roaring from behind the Lakers and seized the top spot from their grasp.

“I wouldn’t over-analyze it. In (a large) field with good teams, it’s going to happen once and a while in golf,” said GVSU coach Gary Bissell. “We need to just figure out how to play a little better, but as far as the team aspect, I don’t think there’s one way you can prevent this going forward.”

Scott led the charge for GVSU once again shooting his second 72 in as many days, good enough for a tied-for-second overall finish on the weekend. Mancinelli shot another 74 and tied for 12^th, Messner shot a 77 and Nannetti hit 75. The Lakers once again kept their entire team out of the 80s.

Though not perfect, Scott was overall content with his performance.

“I was hitting the right spot today,” Scott said. “I wasn’t super accurate off the tee but the courses are pretty open. I just didn’t make big mistakes, didn’t go for hero shots and just kept doing my thing. No highs, no lows, just kept rolling.”

With the Meadows Golf Course opening in Allendale soon, the team hopes to get plenty of practice rounds in before taking off for their next event starting Monday, March 27, in Lexington, Kentucky.

“(We’ll) hopefully be playing a lot of golf,” Bissell said. “Fingers crossed that our course opens (Monday) and we’re going to try and get some rounds in, and we get a couple guys working on some things, but for the most part now we’re going to try and play as much as possible and start scoring again.”