SAN ANTONIO, Texas –The St. Edward's men's golf team finished in fourth place in the Bruce Williams Memorial Invitational on Tuesday afternoon at the Dominion Country Club. St. Edward's (302-279-302=883) finished behind West Texas A&M University (292-290-300=882), Western New Mexico (288-285-303=876), and first-place Wayland Baptist (287-286-301=874).
 
St. Edward's and the rest of the field seemed to struggle some in today's third round as scores dropped across the board. The best team round of today was a 297 by SE Oklahoma State while the best individual round was even par. The Hilltoppers' third round of 302 today equals the team's first round score from yesterday.
 
DILLON VAN ESSEN (71-70-74=215) led all Hilltoppers and finished second overall. Van Essen ranked highly in several statistical categories. He tied for fourth in Par-4 Scoring (+1), tied for first in Par-5 Scoring (-5), and tied for third in pars (38). Van Essen had competition for second place. With 60 yards left to the green on his third shot, Van Essen hit his wedge and holed the putt for birdie to claim second place for himself.
 
"Dillon played an outstanding tournament," said Coach Todd Ohlmeyer. "A second place finish this week is something he can build on for next semester." This is the second week in a row that the Hilltoppers have had a player finish second individually. Andre Rodas finished in second place last week at The Territory Classic.
 
JOSE HERNANDEZ (74-68-78=220) and ENRIQUE LIVAS (75-70-75=220) tied for second among Hilltoppers and tied for eighth overall. Hernandez shot a round of 78 today while Livas shot a round of 75. Hernandez finished tied for first in Par-4 Scoring (E) while Livas tied for fifth in birdies with 11.
 
Rodas (85-71-75=231) finished fourth on the team and tied for 45th overall. Rodas bounced back from his first round of 85 to combine for 146 over the next two rounds. "Andres seems to have found his form," said Ohlmeyer.
 
KAMERON KUBIS (82-76-82=240) matched his first round score of 82 in today's third round to finish in 61st place overall. As an individual, BRIAN SMITH (74-72-74=220) tied for eighth overall.
 
St. Edward's ranked high in several of the tournament's statistical categories. The Hilltoppers finished tied for second in birdies (40), fourth in Par-4 Scoring (+30), and fourth in Par-5 Scoring (-5).
 
"Obviously today did not go as planned but I am proud of how the guys played this week and semester" said Ohlmeyer. "It's exciting for us as a team to have four players finish in the top eight overall. The guys did a great job rebounding after a disappointing first event of the semester. Finishing third, first and fourth these last three events gives this group a lot of confidence moving forward. The group is excited, anxious and will be ready when we travel to Florida in February," said Ohlmeyer.
 
St. Edward's has now completed its Fall Schedule. The Hilltoppers will be back in action February 11-12 at the Matlock Invitational. The two-day tournament will take place at the Lone Palm Golf Club in Lakeland, Fla.