LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's golf team completely rewrote the program record books this week, placing second at the SEU Fall Invitational in Lakeland. The Gyrenes shattered the program record for a 54-hole score with a two-under 862, the first under par tournament in program history. Ave Maria finished just one shot behind Southeastern for the tournament title, nearly toppling the 15th ranked team in the newest Bushnell/Golfweek NAIA Coaches Poll.

The Gyrenes broke the school record for a single round in the opening round, going under par for the first time with a score of 287. Ty Kaufman led the Gyrenes in the first round, making five birdies en route to a round of 70. Gabriel DeCasas and Alex Veneziano were both under par as well, shooting one-under rounds of 71. Matt Mullen rounded out the effort with a round of 75. 

Although the AMU score dropped by five strokes in the second round, the Gyrenes remained in the hunt, sitting just six shots back of the host Fire. DeCasas fired his best round of the tournament with a two-under 70, while Mullen shaved four strokes off his first round with a one-under 71. Kaufman added an even par score of 72, with Veneziano and Eric Cherubini both shooting 77s. 

Ave Maria was the best team in the field on Monday, making up five strokes on Southeastern with a three-under 285, breaking the school record from the previous day. This time, it was Veneziano leading the way for Ave Maria with a two-under 70. Mullen shot a 71, and was five-under par at one point in the round before running out of steam. Two even par scores from DeCasas and Cherubini finished off the best round in Ave Maria history.

AMU's run on the final day was almost enough to track down Southeastern for the title. A birdie on the final hole from SEU's Christopher Greenberry kept the Fire ahead by one shot, winning with a three-under total of 861. The individual race had less drama, as the Fire's Matthew Soucinek, powered by a 65 in the second round, claimed individual medalist honors with a score of 208, eight under par.

DeCasas led the Gyrenes, shooting par or better in all three rounds. DeCasas led the tournament in par 4 scoring, par 5 scoring, and birdies made, finishing with a three-under 213. Mullen finished tied for fifth at 217, while Veneziano and Kaufman were a shot back at 218. Kaufman led the tournament on par threes, shooting two-under on the shortest holes. Cherubini rounded out AMU's efforts with a 226, led by his par score in the final round.

The tournament at Southeastern marks the final competition for the Gyrenes this semester. The AMU golfers will take the rest of the calendar year off from competition, with the schedule resuming early in 2024. The schedule for the spring season for Ave Maria will be announced in the coming weeks, with AMU scheduled to compete with some of the nation's top teams leading into April's Sun Conference Championships, the top conference tournament in NAIA golf.