The St. Thomas Aquinas men's golf team captured their annual Spring Invitational for a second consecutive year behind two solid team rounds. All five team players finished in the top twenty, with sophomore Chris Fitzpatrick earning medalist honors with a brilliant weekend of even par golf (73-71).
On day one, conditions were extremely difficult with temperatures in the low 40's and winds gusting upwards of 35mph. The entire field struggled to manage in the conditions, but the Spartans played an excellent round of golf. Fitzpatrick led the charge with a hard earned 73. Junior Sean Campbell was able to move on from his poor play in Puerto Rico and post a great round of 75. Pat Schwarze played brilliant golf all day and entered the 18th hole 1-over par. After an unfortunate bounce, Schwarze was forced to take a penalty and ended up shooting 76. Brian Voila and John Casey both contributed to the effort with rounds of 80. With an opening day team score of 304, the Spartans found themselves in the lead by ten shots over Division I opponent Fairleigh Dickinson and regional rival Goldey-Beacom.
Day two brought similar temperatures and winds gusting at 15mph. The STAC golf team was determined to finish the event with a strong performance and that was exactly what they did. With the pressure on, the Spartans played beautifully posting the low round of the weekend with a team score of 299 behind the brilliant play of Chris Fitzpatrick. With a round of 1-over par under his belt, Fitzpatrick was tied for the individual tournament lead. After finishing his front nine at 1 under par, the sophomore was on his way to a first career victory. Fitzpatrick's even par back nine and round of 71 was good for first place by 2 shots over Rob Cerabone from Fairleigh Dickinson.
Senior Brian Viola rebounded from his day one 80 to post an excellent score of 75 while freshman John Casey also improved to shoot 76. Senior Pat Schwarze and junior Sean Campbell shot 77 and 78 respectively. With a two day effort of 603 (304-299) the Spartans finished 15 shots clear of tournament runner-up Goldey-Beacom at 618 (314-304).
Chris Fitzpatrick 73 - 71 ---144 First Place
Sean Campbell 75 - 78 ---153 T- 7
Patrick Schwarze 76 - 77 ---153 T-7
Brian Viola 80 - 75 ---155 T-14
John Casey 80 - 76 ---156 T-16