Nov. 3, 2009

The Florida Atlantic University men's golf team completed a successful fall season with three consistent rounds and a second place finish in the Stetson Invitational on Tuesday in Deland.

Senior Ben Silverman paced the Owls by shooting three subpar rounds to tie for second place individual honors. The Thornhill, Ontario native shot a bogey-free three-under-par 69 score on Tuesday's final 18 holes on the 7,082-yard, par-72 Victoria Hill's Country Club layout. He finished the 54-hole event with a 211 score.

Silverman finished in a tie for second place in all three of FAU fall events and feels good about where his game is at this point of the season.

"I missed only one fairway and two greens," said Silverman. "I got up and down to score well during Monday's first two rounds, but all aspects of my game helped me shoot the 69 (on Tuesday)."

Junior Kelly McHugh shot a two-over-par 74 to finish in a tie for seventh place with a 216 score over the 54-hole tournament. He had a 67 during Monday's second round.

Sophomore Carl McCauley fired rounds of 74, 74 and 75 to finish the event with a 223 score. Fellow sophomore Michael Baskovich finished one stroke behind and improved his score during each round, highlighted by a one-over-par 73 on Tuesday. Sophomore Justin Thompson rounded out the team score.

Florida Gulf Coast University won the team title with a tournament record 851 team composite score. FAU finished four strokes ahead of Murray State University for second place with 874 score. There were nine teams in the tournament.

Coach Angelo Sands liked how his team handled the pressure of being placed among the nation's top 100 teams, according to Golfweek magazine's recent rankings.

"The guys continue to play well and we beat some good teams in this tournament," said Sands. "We are now gaining recognition and it was nice to see the guys handle that pressure well with another strong showing."

FAU will begin the spring season on March 5 in the University of South Florida Tournament in Tampa.

Team Scores:

1) Florida Gulf Coast 851; 2) Florida Atlantic 874 ; 3) Murray State 878; 4) Murray State 883; 5) University of South Carolina-Upstate 891; 6) Rollins College 897; 7) Jacksonville Univ. 907; 8) Lipscomb Univ. 912; 9) Bethune-Cookman Univ. 918

Individual Scores:

T-2) Ben Silverman 211; T-7) Kelly McHugh 216; T-17) Carl McCauley 223; T-19) Michael Baskovich 224; T-36) Justin Thompson 236