The men's golf team took third place this past weekend at the 35-team Firestone Intercollegiate Invitational at Akron, Ohio. Individually, Dan Vona finished third to lead the team to its impressive performance.

Big Ten teams took four of the top five places. Penn State finished just two strokes behind second-place Michigan and only three behind tournament champion Wisconsin. Indiana took fifth.

"We all came together and played great, especially on the tough course," said Jason Tyska, who finished 34th.

Matt Shiley took 23rd while Captain William Smith came in at 44th.

The tournament featured 180 top golfers from various midwestern schools.

Originally scheduled to be a 54-hole contest, the invitational had to be cut to 27 holes due to rainy weather on Saturday. The unusual format did not effect Vona's performance, however, as he shot an outstanding 109. Only four strokes seperated him from Wisconsin's Ron Wuensche, the individual tournament winner.

"I felt confident and comfortable," Vona said. "I was putting excellent and that helped a lot."

"We're really proud of Dan," Coach Mary Kennedy-Zierke said.

Vona, though, won't be putting this weekend.

He will not be travelling with the team to the prestigous Hepler Invitational at Ohio State. He said he needs the time to concentrate on his studies.

However, the team has enough depth that they should be able to cover the loss of Vona. Later this week a playoff to determine which two players will join Shiley, Tyska and Smith this weekend at the Big Ten affiliated Invitational will take place.

With only two weeks before the Eastern Championships in Maryland, the team is concentrating on becoming more consistent.

"With the right preparation, this team is talented enough to go all the way," Kennedy-Zierke said.