Two individual top 10 finishes for Berry's men's golf team drove the Vikings to a season best performance, finishing fourth in a field of 15 at the Wabash Invitational in Indianapolis, Indiana. This week assured that the men's golf program is in good hands for the next few years because the lowest scores for the Vikings happened to come from freshman.
Berry's Noah Farland tied the lowest score in the tournament in the second round on Monday with a 69. Three birdies on the back nine gave the freshman all the momentum that he would need for a third-place finish in a field of 90. The Massachusetts native tallied a 74 in round one and closed with a 75 in the final round, finishing with an impressive two-over for the invitational.
Cam Baker went the distance for Berry and proved to the rest of the field that they should never count a Viking out. After shooting a 75 and 76 in rounds one and two respectively, the freshman found himself sitting at seven-over par in a tie for 21st place. Baker stayed focused throughout the final round on Tuesday, shooting a total of five birdies en route to a one-under par 71. The low scoring final round solidified a sixth-place finish, also known as Baker's highest individual placement of his collegiate career.
Jay Sanders finished in a tie for 28th, shooting 229. Junior Kevin Verrill placed in a tie for 31st, carding a 231 over the two days.
Josh Lay remained consistent throughout the invitational, shooting two rounds of 81 and one round of 79, earning a tie for 62nd. Bookending the scoring for the Vikings was Andrew Garger. The underclassman shot 249 over three rounds and placed in a tie for 78th.
Berry's fourth place finish was enough to defeat Southern Athletic Association foe Sewanee, the No. 15 team in the country according to the Golf Coaches Association of America, by three shots. The Vikings were only seven shots out of third place, which was occupied by Wittenberg University, the seventh ranked team in the country.
The Vikings will have a short break before traveling to Sandestin, Florida from Oct. 15-17 to compete in the annual Golfweek Invitational.
