April 14, 2005

MIDDLETOWN, Del. - With a weekend tournament looming that could decide the team's postseason hopes, Villanova tuned up on Thursday afternoon at the Widener Invitational. The Wildcats shot a 303 to finish first out of 19 schools at the tournament, held at the par-71 Frog Hollow GC in Middletown. Villanova finished six strokes ahead of La Salle in the field, and won its second tournament in the last two weeks.

Sophomore Brock Bergman and junior Henry Watson finished in a tie for fourth place in the field of 94 golfers. Each carded a score of 75 that included a 37 on the front nine and a 38 on the back end. Junior Jonathan Hewett was tied for sixth place with a 76, while classmate Colin Mahon shot a 77 to place 10th. The Wildcats were the only team with more than one player in the top 10.

La Salle, which was the only other Division I school in the field, finished six strokes off the pace with a score of 309. Montgomery College (314), Delaware Valley (319), Neumann College (327) and Nassau County CC (327) rounded out the top five. Phil Arouca of La Salle came in with a two-under-par 69 to capture medalist honors.

Coming up this weekend, Villanova will play in the 36-hole Navy Spring Invitational. The tournament will be played on Saturday and Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course in Annapolis.

Among the teams at the Navy tournament will be the Wildcats Big East rival, Connecticut. The six-team field for the Big East Championship later this month will be announced on Sunday evening and it is likely that either Villanova or Connecticut will receive one of the final spots. The teams have gone head-to-head three times this season. The two teams are nearly evenly matched, giving added importance to this weekend's tournament for both squads. Villanova has a slight advantage in head-to-head stroke competition (-6), but the Huskies claim a small edge in overall season stroke average.

Results from the Navy Invitational will be available on the Villanova website on both Saturday and Sunday evenings. The website will also be updated late Sunday evening in the event the Wildcats secure one of the six berths in the Big East Championship.

NOTES: Villanova's other recent tournament victory came at the George Washington Invite on April 3 ... In that tournament, the Wildcats also shot a 303 and finished at the top of the 25-team field ... Villanova's score in the rain-shortened, 18-hole event beat Connecticut by 23 strokes (326) ... The Huskies finished just ahead of the Wildcats at two tournaments during the fall season ... Hewett was medalist among 130 golfers at the George Washington tournament, where he shot a 1-over-par 73 ... It was the first time a Villanova golfer earned medalist honors since Watson took first at the Rehoboth Beach Spring Invite in 2003 ... Prior to George Washington, the Wildcats had not won a tournament since emerging victorious at Lehigh on Oct. 22, 1997.