DADE CITY, Fla. –Three Lee University men's golf players shot under par in the third and final round of the Saint Leo Invitational on Tuesday afternoon. The Flames as a team shot an 861 to take seventh place in the loaded field. Oliver Lewis-Perkins and Noah Ross each shot a 215 to finish tied for 25^th.
 
The host school Saint Leo University won the tournament shooting an incredible -31 as a team. The score of 833 (277-280-276) was 15 strokes better than Keiser University who took second (848). Keiser's Isac Wallin won the individual title shooting a 199 (65-67-67) which was 17 under par.
 
The Flames had a tough first round shooting 291 as a team. They rebounded nicely in rounds two and three to shoot a 285 in each round. Lewis-Perkins shot a 215 (72-71-72) as did Ross (73-71-71). Freshman Mitchell Strickland was the third best finisher for the Flames coming in tied for 28^th as he shot a 216 (73-72-71). Bennett McNabb was tied for 46^th with a 219 (73-71-75). Nicolas Normand was 103^rd shooting a 236 (85-80-71).
 
Valdosta State University was the top finishing Gulf South Conference school taking fifth place with an 857. The University of Montevallo was tied for ninth, while Union University was 13^th.
 
The Flames will be back in action on March 11-12 as they will go to Valdosta, Ga. to compete in the First Federal Southeastern Collegiate.
 

Coach Evan Spence's Thoughts:
 
"Really enjoyed getting back out in the heat of competition this week with these guys. Glad to get another event under our belt and start knocking some rust off after the winter break."

"Obviously, we didn't get the result we were hoping for this week but it didn't feel too far off as a whole to be honest. There were just a few little things that we need to tidy up over the next couple of weeks before hitting the road again and we will work hard to do that."

"Individually, I was really proud of Mitchell's effort this week who showed a lot of grit, especially for a freshman, by pulling it back to even par for the tournament after a slow start out of the gate. Great to see Nico turn it around in the final round and give us a counting score as well. Ollie, Noah, and Bennett have been our workhorses this season and while they were all fractionally off at times this week it's not hard to tell that they are all very close to breaking through and I'm excited to see the progress each of them will be able to make over the next couple of weeks at home before traveling again."