Oct. 15, 2007

Complete Results

FLOURTOWN, Pa.-- Despite entering the final 18 holes with a 13-stroke deficit behind the leading Big Five school, Villanova nearly made up the entire margin before coming in three strokes behind Penn at this weekend's Big Five Invitational at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. The Wildcats shot team scores of 310 and 305 and placed 10th overall in the field of 15 schools.

After the first round of play on Saturday, the Quakers had recorded a team score of 297 while Villanova came in with a 310. That score left the Wildcats second among the local schools at the tournament but 13 strokes behind Penn for the coveted Big Five trophy.

Over the final 18 holes on Sunday, Villanova improved its team score by five strokes while the Quakers dropped to a 315. The Wildcats maintained their hold on second place among the Big Five programs and finished just three strokes short of Penn. Villanova came in with a two-day total of 615 to tie for 10th place in the field while the Quakers were at 612 and tied for seventh place.

Individually for the Wildcats, junior co-captains Andrew Alexander (Rochester, Minn.) and Doug Stadler (Wexford, Pa.) each finished in the top 20 out of 79 golfers. Alexander carded scores of 74 and 76 to finish in a tie for 13th place, while Stadler came in with marks of 75 and 77 to tie for 19th overall.

Through the first three tournaments of the season, only one team player (leading scorer Brett Bergman) had posted a finish in the top-20 of a tournament field, while both Alexander and Stadler placed near the top of the individual standings this weekend. Coming in just outside the top-20 was freshman Conor Casey (Madison, N.J.), who tied for 22nd place. After a season-high round of 81 in the opening round, Casey rebounded with a 1-over-par 72 in the second round to come in just one stroke off his season-best round.

Freshman Colin List (Boynton Beach, Fla.) notched identical scores of 80 and tied for 55th place overall. Junior Paul Sjoberg (Thief River Falls, Minn.) played his first tournament of the season and tied for 71st in the field with a two-day total of 168.

Trailing Penn and Villanova among Big Five schools were Saint Joseph's in 12th place (623), Temple in 14th place (642) and La Salle in 15th place (685). The Quakers successfully defended their title after taking the trophy away from the Wildcats in 2006.

Cornell came in with a team score of 296 on Sunday to claim the team title by four strokes over Boston College and Seton Hall. George Mason's J.J. Amoruso claimed individual medalist honors with back-to-back rounds of even-par 71 for a total of 142. He was the lone player to break par for the tournament, which featured only two rounds under par for the entire weekend.

Next up for Villanova during a busy fall schedule is the Georgetown Hoya Invitational this coming weekend.