The St. Thomas Aquinas Men's golf team earned a first place finish at the BrownGolf Intercollegiate at the FireFox Resort in Jackson Springs, NC. The Spartans were led by junior Michael Miranda who started the spring with a 5 shot victory over the 82 person field. Miranda set the tone during the first round of play, carding the day's low round with a 2 under par 70.

Right behind Miranda were senior Brendan Hunter and Sophomore Hamish Houston who posted rounds of 72. Michael Frizalone was just one shot behind his teammates after shooting a 1-over par 73 while senior Kevin Gately managed to fire a 2-over par 74. The Spartans team score of 287 (1 under par) was good for first place ahead of West Chester University and Millersville University.

During round two, the field was forced to endure rain showers for their starting holes. The team got off to a slow start with a few lost shots to water hazards and poor wedge play. After making birdie on the first, Miranda put his next tee shot into the water and was forced to drop 200 yards out. He proceeded to hit his 3rd shot to the center of the green and 2-putted for his bogey. From there, Miranda grinded his way around the course, dealing with mud balls on most of his approaches. After making the turn at even par, Miranda poured in 3 birdies on his back nine to post a final round 69 (-3). His two day score of 139 (70-69) was good for a 5 shot victory over the field.

Brendan Hunter was the next low Spartan in 6th place with a 149 (72-77) total. Hunter got off to a difficult start going 5 over in his first 7 holes. He was able to settle down and maintain his composure to post a final round 77.  

Senior Kevin Gately battled a cold putter all weekend, narrowly missing a ton of birdie opportunities. He was able to grind out a final round 76 after 2 bogies and a double. His 2 day score of 150 (74-76) was good for an 8th place finish.  

Michael Frizalone finished the tournament in 17th place after carding a final round 79 good for a 2-day score of 152 (73-79) while Hamish Houston struggled in his final round shooting an 81. Houston's event score of 153 (72-81) was good for 22nd place.

Playing as an individual in his first collegiate action, sophomore Christian Jones had two solid rounds of 76 and 75 respectively. His 2-day score of 151 earned him a 12th place finish in his first career event.

The Spartans 2-day team score of 588 (287-301) was good for a 9 shot victory over the 12 team field. The team is off this weekend, but travels to Miami Beach next weekend to take on some of the top Division II teams in the country at the Barry University "Buccaneer Invitational." The Spartans had an excellent showing last year finishing in 3rd place ahead of many top 25 ranked schools.