ERIE, Pa. -- Point Park University men's golf placed second of nine teams at the Mercyhurst Spring Invite on Saturday at Lake View Country Club. In the event that featured all 36 holes in one day, the Pioneers shot 307 and 309 to take runner-up in the NCAA Division II event.
Troy Loughry and Tharcisse Kalinda led the Pioneers to the high finish. Loughry, a junior college All-American transfer, won his seventh tournament in 10 events this year shooting 3-over for the tournament. Kalinda, a native of France who transferred in this year, tied for second one shot back of his teammate at 4-over.
Gannon won the team title with an opening 299 and then a 305 in the final round. Point Park was the the best of the rest 12 shots behind that but still beating host Mercyhurst (310-308), Pitt-Johnstown (311-308), West Liberty (313-308) and three other schools.
Loughry and Kalinda tied for the best round of the day -- Loughry with his 72 in the first round and Kalinda with his 72 to finish. Shaumak Rama from Gannon shot 72-76 to tie for second. Kalinda had a chance to make a putt on the 36th hole to get into a playoff with Loughry but missed.
Loughry shot 1-under on the front nine of the first round. Eight pars and a bogey put him at par through 18 holes. Loughry ran into some bogeys to start his final round but played the back 9 at 1-under with another eight pars to ensure the tournament victory.
After opening up with a 76 in the first round, Kalinda climbed the leaderboard shooting par the rest of the way. A very solid round had a birdie and a bogey going on each side.
Anthony Santilli shot a 77 in the final round to finish tied for 22nd place. That included three birdies in the round. Loris Vollant shot 83-80 on the day for 32nd place. Anthony Maltony shot an opening 79 to highlight his day. Alex Zinz shot 85 in the first round for his best on the day.
Point Park continued to post high finishes in the team standings. In four events so far this spring, the Pioneers have been first at W&J, second at Mercyhurst, third at UNOH and fourth at Alice Lloyd (Ky.).
Point Park's next scheduled tournament is the River States Conference Men's Golf Championship in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for any updates for makeup dates of previously postponed events.
