Erie, Pa. – The West Liberty University men's golf team posted a fifth place finish and a 36-hole score of 621 (+45) at the Mercyhurst Spring Invitational on Saturday at the Lake View Country Club. The Hilltoppers were led by a pair of top-10 finishes as Bo Orecchio turned in his best finish of the year in fifth place, and Derek Graham was close behind in a tie for sixth place which resulted in his second consecutive top-10.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bo Orecchio turned in his first top-5 finish of the season as he led the Hilltoppers with a 150 (+6) score for fifth place in the 36-hole tournament. He was one of three WLU players to shoot a 76 (+4) in the first round as he tallied a pair of birdies, and he then proceeded to improve his second round score by a pair of strokes carding the best round by a West Liberty golfer during the day with a 74 (+2). In the second round he tallied another pair of bridies to bring his daily total to four.
• Derek Graham recorded his third top-10 finish of the season (second straight) as he posted a score of 151 (+7) at the Lake View Country Club for a tie for sixth overall. He was one of three Hilltopper golfers to turn in a score of 76 (+4) in the opening round, collecting four birdies. He was one of five West Liberty athletes to show an improvement from round one to round two, shooting 75 (+3) to close the day as he scored par on 15 of the 18 holes.
• Ethan Cook notched his second consecutive top-15 finish as he shot a 154 (+10) to finish in a tie for 15^th at the Mercyhurst Spring Invitational. He rounded out the trio of Hilltoppers to card an opening round low of 76 (+4) as he collected a pair of birdies. In the second round he turned in a score of 78 (+6) and added another pair of birdies to bring his total to four on the day.
• Playing as an individual at the Mercyhurst Spring Invitational was Awethu Mkhwanazi who carded a 36-hole score of 158 (+14) for a tie for 25^th place. After turning in a first round score of 81 (+9) which saw him collect one birdie, he posted a four stroke improvement in the final round as he scored par or better in 13 of the 18 holes for a 77 (+5) with one birdie.
• Noah Seivertson recorded a 36-hole score of 166 (+22) for a tie for 39^th place at the Lake View Country Club on Saturday. Following an opening round of 85 (+13) in which he scored par on eight holes, he saw a four stroke improvement for a second round of 81 (+9) and scored par on 11 of the courses 18 holes.
• Justin Doerr rounded out the Hilltopper lineup with a score of 170 (+26) and a tie of 45^th place in the tournament hosted by Mercyhurst University. After carding an 86 (+14) in the first round where he scored par on nine holes, he posted a two stroke improvement with a final round score of 84 (+12) and scored par on eight holes.

WEST LIBERTY TEAM SCORING

RANK	INDIVIDUAL	R1	R2	TOTAL
5	Bo Orecchio	76 (+4)	74 (+2)	150 (+6)
T-6	Derek Graham	76 (+4)	75 (+3)	151 (+7)
T-15	Ethan Cook	76 (+4)	78 (+6)	154 (+10)
T-39	Noah Seivertson	85 (+13)	81 (+9)	166 (+22)
T-45	Justin Doerr	86 (+14)	84 (+12)	170 (+26)
WEST LIBERTY INDIVIDUAL SCORING
T-25	Awethu Mkhwanazi	81 (+9)	77 (+5)	158 (+14)

 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will be in action on Monday, April 15, and Tuesday, April 16, as they are set to compete in the Cecil C. Spadafora IUP Invitational, hosted by Indiana (PA). The tournament will be held at Indiana Country Club in Indiana, Pennsylvania.