TAMPA, Fla. – The Carson-Newman men's golf team finished the first tournament on their fall 2016 schedule on Tuesday with a fifth place finish in the St. Leo Invitational in Tampa, Florida. The Eagles completed the 54-hole event with a score of 877 and placed two players in the top 10, one of only three teams to do so.

"I hate that we dropped a couple of spots, but we learned a lot this week," Golf Coach Randy Wylie said. "We do need to continue getting better. I'm very proud of Tom Forster. He had a terrific first tournament for a freshman."

Forster (Oundle, England) carded the best score for Carson-Newman in the tournament, as he finished in seventh place, three under par. Forster shot a 69 and a 70 on Monday and before posting a 74 on Tuesday.

Just one stroke behind Forster was Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.), who didn't put up a score above par in any of the event's three rounds. His 72 on Tuesday was C-N's best score over the final 18 holes and his overall score of 214 was good enough to tie him for eighth place. This is the sixth career top 10 finish for Reese.

Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) tied for 13^th in the invitational, after recording a +3, 75 on Tuesday. That round put him with a score of exactly even for the tournament. Headrick's 13^th place finish is the third highest in his career.

The Eagles also had two other freshman finish up their first collegiate event Tuesday. Fintan McKenna (Westhill, UK) completed the tournament with a score of 237, putting him tied for 63^rd place, while Brady Childers (Granite Falls, N.C.) was only one stroke behind and tied for 65^th.

Also finishing tied for 65^th was sophomore Grant Bodie (Knoxville, Tenn.), who played in the tournament as an individual, meaning his score didn't count towards the team's overall mark.

The invitational was won by Florida Southern, who had a final stroke count of 852. One of their golfers also claimed the top individual score, as John Coultas shot eight under par. South Carolina-Aiken came in second in the tournament and Limestone rounded out the top three.

5           Carson-Newman                289        288        300        877

7             Tom Forster        69           70           74           (-3)

T8           Dalton Reese     71           71           72           (-2)

T9           Jake Headrick     69           72           75           (E)

T60        Fintan McKenna 80           75           82           (+21)

T68        Brady Childers    80           75           82           (+22)

T60        Grant Bodie         75           80           83           (+22)

-CN-