Box Score Belle Vernon, PA. – On Sunday, the Wheeling University Men's Golf team kicked off 2023 at the Vulcan Invitational. They played the first 36 holes of their event on a hot Sunday afternoon and are sitting in seventh heading into the final round of the event. It was a big day for the Cardinal's freshman class, with three of those golfers shooting a sub-80 score in both rounds of the event.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Phillip Halvorsen, who sits tied for 13th in the field with a combined score of 149 between the two rounds. He started his collegiate career strong from round one, shooting +2 through the first 18 holes to finish with a 73. He was tied for the fourth lowest score in the field after the first 18 holes, and looked to continue his success on to the second round. While he still shot under the 80-stroke mark, he did raise his score by three strokes in the second round, shooting a 76. He is currently tied with six other golfers for the #13 spot, and will look to get back into the event's top 10 if he can put together a strong finish over the final 18 holes of play on Monday.

Finishing right behind Halvorsen was fellow freshman Ryan Courtney, who sits tied for 23rd at 151 through 36 holes. Like Halvorsen, Courtney came out strong in round one as well, shooting a 74 to finish three over par. He was right behind his teammate with the fifth lowest score among competitors and headed into the second round looking to keep it going. He ended up raising his score as well, shooting a 77 to round out his day. The future is looking bright for the program with two of their freshmen leading the way, and they look to continue to grow as the season goes on. Halvorsen and Courtney took two of the top three MEC finishes in the event and both head into round three looking to grow.

The first returner on the board for the Cardinals was senior Nick Zaller, who finished tied for 56 with a 156 score. He shot a career-best 75 in the first round of competition, before ending his day with an 81 in round two. The third freshman to have two sub-80 round scores was Robin Duzzman, who finished tied for 58th in the field. He shot identical 79's in both the first and second rounds of competition as he showed consistency on the course. Freshman Luis Alvarez rounded out the top five for the Cardinals, finishing with a two-round score of 167. He shot an 85 through the first 18 holes and dropped that score to 82 as he ran through the second 18 holes of the event. The final two golfers on the men's side were Ethan Short and Alex Parker, who finished at 180 and 185 respectively to round out the event.

Day two of the Vulcan Invitational will kick-off on Monday, September 4th, when the men will play the final 18 holes of competition. Tee time is scheduled for approximately 9 AM.