The Eastern men’s golf team took a trip to Florida last week, but it was no break as they hit the course for two different invitationals. And, the spring season is already looking brighter than the fall.

First up was the Bethune-Cookman Spring Invitational on March 7 and 8 in which the Panthers managed a 13th place finish of 16 teams.

In all four fall season competitions, Eastern did not finish better than second-to-last.

Junior Marcello Verdolin led the way for Eastern with a 79-stroke first round and closed out the contest with a 241-stroke total, good for a tie for 57th overall.

Freshman Pierce Allord was right there with Verdolin after a second-round 78 sandwiched by an 82 and an 81 in rounds one and three, respectively, to finish at 241 as well.

Senior Chuck Adare snuggled up right behind Verdolin and Allord after a pair of 82 rounds on Thursday before finishing up the week with a final round 80.

Adare ranks second on the team in stroke average with a 77.5 per round figure between the fall and spring seasons.

The team leader in that category, junior Romeo Perez, registered the team’s lowest individual round score at the invitational but also recorded the second-highest round total with a first-round 88.

Perez cleaned up the outing with a final round 80 to finish at 245 strokes and fourth place on the team.

Rounding out the pre-weekend matchup was sophomore Sebastian Olrog who saw a steady progression across the tournament, recording an 11-stroke drop from round one to three en route to a 255-stroke total

The Bethune-Cookman Spring Invitational was not the only action Eastern got itself into in Florida, though, as the Panthers finished in 6th place of eight teams at the Don Benbow Invitational in Jacksonville.

Verdolin stole the show again, posting a team-low 148 en route to a tie for 5th place overall.

Although Verdolin gained two strokes from the first to the second round, his opening-round 73 set up the chance to move into the top five for the first time this season.

Allord again followed right behind Verdolin with a 151-stroke total, good for 15th overall.

It was another slow start that did in Perez, though, posting an 80-stroke round one, but his 74-stroke performance in round two was good for best on the team in the second set of 18 holes.

Freshman Nic Nguyen was placed on the team instead of the individuals list for the tournament, finishing the contest with a 155-stroke finish.

Adare rounded out the squad with a combined 160 strokes for the invitational.

The team gets a few weeks off before heading to Arkansas for the ASU Bubba Barnett Classic on April 2 and 3.

Oscar Rzodkiewicz can be reached at 581-2812 or orrzodkiewicz@eiu.edu