Only a week remains before the Ohio Valley Conference golf tournament, but first the Eastern men’s golf team will have to travel to Cincinnati, Ohio for the Xavier Invitational.

The tournament will be held from April 19-21^st at the Maketewah Country Club.

This spring, Eastern has competed in three other tournaments and placed as high as eighth in one of them.

That finish took place at Jacksonville State in March, where the Panthers took eighth place in the nine-team field.

Sophomore Marcus Dahlin led the Panthers in the tournament, carding a 229 stroke total. He finished in 31^st place, overall, while going 13-over-par at the Par 72 course in Glencoe, Ala.

Dahlin has competed in 20 rounds this season, while averaging 77.15 strokes per round.

His lowest round came during the Austin Peay Intercollegiate tournament, as he totaled 72 strokes in the second round of that tournament. He eventually finished tied for 46^th place.

Senior Oscar Borda leads the Panthers this season with a 76.47 average through 19 rounds this season. Borda scored a round-low 72 strokes at Austin Peay and went four-over-par for the tournament. He tied for 32^nd place in that tournament.

The Panthers last competed at Arkansas State on April 5, where they finished 20^th out of 21 teams. Senior James Jansen led the Panthers leaderboard with 229 total strokes. He finished tied for 52^nd place and went 1-over-par at the Par 76 course, in his lowest round of the season.

Borda followed with 230 total strokes, and tied for 58^th place, going two-over-par at Jonesboro Ark. Dahlin finished third for the Panthers, hitting 11-over-par, and finishing tied for 97^th place. He totaled 239 strokes in the tournament, including a pair of 78 stroke totals in the last two rounds.

Dahlin, fellow sophomore Daniel Hughes and Borda lead the Panthers in rounds played this year. Both Dahlin and Hughes have competed in 20 rounds apiece, while Borda has competed in 19. Sproles and Hughes also have had the lowest rounds for the Panthers this year, finishing with scores of 71 strokes each.

Daniel Hughes’s brother, sophomore Ryan Hughes, has been the only Panther this year to finish in the top 10. He tied for 10^th place at the Chicago State Fall Classic, going five-over-par at the Par 72 course. He totaled 149 strokes after two rounds of play.

Following this tournament, the Panthers will compete at the OVC championships in Alabama. The tournament will be held at the Shoals and be held from April 24-26^th.

Blake Nash can be reached at 581-2812 or banash@eiu.edu.