For three days at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ men’s golf team went toe-to-toe with the No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Alabama.

The Crimson Tide led virtually wire to wire and took the prestigious event’s team championship, but not without a battle from the No. 16 Knights. A little more than halfway through Tuesday’s third and final round, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ was just three strokes back. While Alabama was able to push its lead back out to a more comfortable margin, the Knights still came away with their best-ever finish at their final event of the fall season.

Alabama put together a three-day total of 838 (-26) to take the victory and set a new tournament record for total team score. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ took runner-up honors with a final tally of 850 (-14). California, the defending ICI champion, was the only other team to finish under par at 859 (-5).

β€œI think it shows the development and maturity of our program,” ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ head coach Bryce Wallor said of his team’s finish. β€œWe have a bunch of seniors on our golf team. We have guys that know how to play the golf course. So I think that led to us inevitably having a great golf tournament. Maybe any other year that score we put up wins, but this year we had to play a very good Alabama team.”

The Knights picked up victories over No. 4 California, No. 6 Illinois, No. 11 New Mexico, No. 15 Texas and No. 18 Arkansas. In addition to those squads, the Knights finished in front of a total of 13 other teams, 12 of which were ranked among the top 50 in the nation.

Alabama’s Trey Mullinax tied the individual tournament record with an 11-under total of 205 for the tournament. He tallied scores of 66, 68 and 71 to take the victory.

Meanwhile, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ was paced by three top-10 finishers. Senior Kyle Wilshire put together rounds of 71, 71 and 70 for a 4-under 212. Freshman Ryan Stovash was just behind, tying for fifth. He carded rounds of 70, 71 and 72 to finish 3-under. Senior Greg Eason slipped from third place after the first two rounds to a tie for eighth. After scoring 68 and 69 in the first two rounds, the All-America performer struggled a bit on Tuesday finishing up with a 78 for a 215 (-1).

Senior Ricardo Gouveia opened with a 77, but followed with rounds of 70 and 71 to finish with a three-round score of 218 (+2) and in a tie for 18th. Junior transfer Linus Vaisanen rounded out the Knights’ lineup in a tie for 28th, firing scores of 73, 73 and 74 for a 4-over 220.

β€œWe had a great tournament,” Stovash said. β€œA lot of guys played well and we beat a couple good teams and we finished second, which was awesome.”

The Knights are now off from competition until Feb. 15-16, when they will open the spring portion of their schedule at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.

β€œYou look at our fall and we started the season with two wins, a fifth and now a second in a very good golf tournament,” Wallor said. β€œIt gives us something to build on. Obviously Alabama setting the bar pretty high gives us the notion that we need to improve. So we’ll look at the off-season as a chance to improve and see if we can be a little more competitive in the spring.”

Team Leaders

  1. Alabama 280-272-286=838 (-26)
  2. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ 282-281-287=850 (-14)
  3. California 284-286-289=859 (-5)

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Golfers

4. Kyle Wilshire 71-71-70=212 (-4)

T5. Ryan Stovash 70-71-72=213 (-3)

T8. Greg Eason 68-69-78=215 (-1)

T18. Ricardo Gouveia 77-70-71=218 (+2)

T28. Linus Vaisanen 73-73-74=220 (+4)