The men's golf team continued its fall success with two fine performances at its first invitationals of the spring season.

Penn State, which won the Atlantic 10 championship and the prestigious Walter McLaughlin Tournament in the fall, finished 10th out of 16 teams at the Sam Houston State Invitational over spring break, and won the James Madison Invitational this past weekend.

The Lions scored a team total of 617 for the two-day Sam Houston State tournament and posted a 297 on the first day of competition. The match was held at the Elkins Lake Country Club in Huntsville, Tx. (par 72).

"Most of the teams from the South practice all year long, so it was good that we shot under 300 (team total) so early in the season," Coach Mary Kennedy said of the match. "That is almost midseason form."

Chris Kiem, the defending A-10 champion, finished 15th overall, shooting 71 and 79 for a 150 total.

"I was fourth after the first round and then shot a 79, so I was a little displeased," Kiem said.

Lamar University won the invitational with a score of 574. Sam Houston State took second (591) and Stephen F. Austin placed third with 597.

At the 19-team James Madison Invitational, held at the Caverns Country Club in Luray, Va., Penn State (604) edged Greensboro (607) for the team title. JMU took third on its 6,600-yard, par-72 course.

Dan Braun, the team captain, tied for second in the individual standings (71-78-149). His 71 was the only subpar round of the weekend. Kevin South of James Madison won the individual title (147 total).

"I struck the ball as good as anyone there, hitting 16 greens," Braun said. "But I had a confidence problem on the greens."

Kiem finished sixth (76-75-151). Other finishers included Mark Tresse (74-78-152) and Kyle Ross (78-75-153).

"We are playing well as a team," Braun said. "We have a lot of togetherness."

Kennedy said that the James Madison Invitational was the more important of the two events because it was the opening spring golf tournament in the East. The coach added that the team was well prepared for the invitationals because of its off-season training at Holuba Hall.

"We practiced Monday through Friday in the off-season and it really had a direct influence on our play," Kennedy said.

"They put in a range at Holuba so you could hit a full shot," Braun said. "It helped a lot with focusing on the target."

Penn State's next competition will be March 24-25 at the Southeastern Intercollegiate Invitational at Montgomery, Ala.