Miami Beach, Fla. - The St. Thomas Aquinas Men's Golf team opened their spring campaign in beautiful Miami Beach, Florida at the Battle at the Shores hosted by Barry University. The team had a successful tournament, shooting team scores of 291-287-281.
During the first day of play, the team trekked 36 holes in warm and windy conditions. The team was led by junior Tanner Little who carded a 1-under par round of 70. Right behind Little were Nolan Skaggs and Juan Ignacio Simon, both shooting excellent rounds of 73. Rounding out the team scoring for round 1 were Djaia Darrason and Diego Ocasio who posted 77 and 78 respectively.
In the second 18 of the day, the Spartans continued to grind and put together an even stronger showing. Junior Nolan Skaggs played wonderfully, shooting a team-low score of 68. Tanner Little backed up his first round with another solid performance, shooting 71. Juan Ignacio Simon was able to post a stellar 73 while newcomer Diego Ocasio improved from his opening round to shoot 75. Djaia Darrason rounded out the scoring with a 2nd round score of 78.
During the final round of play, the Spartans were one of four teams to shoot under par with an excellent team score of 281 (-3). The team was led by Tanner Little who carded a superb round of 69. Little finished the event at -3 (70-71-69), good for a T-11 finish. Freshman Diego Ocasio had his best showing of the tournament, carding a round of 69 as well. Ocasio's 3-day score of +9 (78-75-69) left him T-64 for the event. Juan Ignacio Simon was the next low Spartan on the day. Vicente's even par 71 left him at +3 for the weekend which was good for a T36 finish. Junior Djaia Darrason has his best round of the event carding a 72. Darrason finished the event in a tie for 76th after rounds of 77-78-72. Nolan Skaggs rounded out the team's final round scoring with a 76. Skaggs solid weekend of 72-68-76 was good for a T-36 finish.
The Spartan's total score of 859 (291-287-281) was good for 10th place in the highly competitive event. The team finished just 4 shots behind some of the top teams in the country. The team is back in action this Friday (April 5) at their home event at Rotella Golf Club in Pomona, New York