GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Playing at the Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Christopher Newport men's golf team finished with a 16th place showing at the Gate City Invite. The Captains were led by Nick Alexander (E) and Michael Thomas (E) in the 54-hole event while sophomore Brian O'Dea (+6) put together the finest round of the tournament with a career-best 69 on day two. 

In Tuesday's second round, O'Dea came out strong with a par to start on the par four 10th hole and the second-year player followed it up with his first career Eagle on the par five 11th. He made the turn after 18 at even Par with 36 strokes but caught fire in the second half of his third round. O'Dea birdied three of his last six holes and played the front nine at three-under to finish with a career-low 69. 

He ran together four straight pars before birdies on both front nine par fives, the 4th and 6th holes, and he closed out the round with another birdie on the par four 9th hole. His impressive day two performance saw him move up 17 spots on the individual leaderboard to finish in 68th place out of 96 players. He recorded a 222 (76-77-69) for the three-round event and chipped in his score for the team in all three rounds. 

O'Dea edged out Alexander, Thomas, and Owen Cook for the best single-round performance of the tournament by just one stroke. Each of the latter finished with a two-under 70 in one round during the event, including an impressive finish by senior Michael Thomas. The lefty sank six birdies on day two with nine pars to climb into a tie for 29th with his sophomore teammate Nick Alexander. Thomas wrapped up the three-day event with a consistent performance, signing for a 216 (73-73-70), a new career-best for a 54-hole tournament. 

Alexander also notched a career-best effort with a 216 (73-70-73) and has recorded two rounds under par in the first five of his second year. His second round was outstanding and nearly bogey-free as he finished the second half of the first day with just one bogey with 14 pars and three birdies. He piled up pars during the week, finishing with a team-high 35 pars in the 54-hole event. On Tuesday, he added five birdies to help lift CNU to 16th as a team. 

Rounding out the top scorers for CNU in the Gate City Invite was Owen Cook (+3), who tied for 52nd in the event. Cook played three rounds in 219 strokes (74-70-75) including a two-under 70 in the second round. Like Alexander, Cook had a near flawless second round with 14 pars, three birdies, and one bogey. He had a 15-hole stretch with a pair of birdies sandwiching a run of 13 straight pars. 

Finally, Owen Taylor (+19) kept his score within striking distance for the Captains in all three rounds. He finished with a 235 (77-78-80). 

As a team, Christopher Newport finished with an 873 (296-290-287), improving the team score in each round of th tournament. The mark ranks in the top-ten all-time at CNU for 54-hole scoring, just one stroke behind the 2023 Camp LeJeune Intercollegiate to rank as the ninth best performance in a three-round event in program history. The third round 287 also ranks in the top-ten for single round scoring on a Par 72 track. 

CNU will be back in action on October 15-16 at the Alvernia Fall Invitational.