Stephen F. Austin
NIT at Omni Tucson Invitational
Lumberjacks Finish 11th Among Competitive Field in Arizona
3/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
2016 National Invitational Tournament
Omni Tucson National Resort | Tucson, Ariz.
Result: SFA finishes 11th among 14-team field (8-over 872)
Top Performer: Senior Luke Sheehan ties for 21st with a 1-under 215
Up Next: at Border Olympics | March 11-12, 2016 | Laredo, Texas
2016 National Invitational Tournament Final Results 
TUCSON, Ariz. – Stephen F. Austin closed out the 2016 National Invitational Tournament right where it had been all week, finishing 11th among the 14-team field. The Lumberjacks posted a 4-over 292 over the final 18 holes of the event, putting together a 54-hole tally of 8-over 872 after consecutive rounds of 290 Sunday and Monday.
The Lumberjacks entered the day in prime position to move up the leaderboard as just six shots separated SFA from third place. But the ‘Jacks held serve in the 11-spot, finishing one shot back of New Mexico State (7-over 871) and its fourth top-10 finish of the season. SFA extended its lead over the teams behind it, however, defeating 12th-place Utah (12-over 876) by four shots and was five strokes better than 13th-place Notre Dame (13-over 877).
Senior Luke Sheehan once again set the tone for SFA with an even-par 72 over the final 18 holes, closing out the event at 1-under 215 and just missing the 20th top-20 finish of his Lumberjack career. He shot par or better all three rounds of the NIT, giving him 32 rounds of par or better for his career as he is now tied with Trevor Sauntry (2002-05) for fourth all-time in program history.
Junior Major Monzingo finished three strokes back of Sheehan with a 2-over 218, tying for 31st overall. One day after carding a career-best 67, Monzingo finished with a 2-over 74 for SFA. Senior Nathan Weant matched Sheehan’s low score of the day with an even-par 72, finishing at 4-over 220 and tying for 37th individually.
Freshman Angelo Leyvani registered a 2-over 74 in round three, giving him a 6-over 222 for the week. Sophomore Tony Underwood rounded out the Lumberjack scorecard with a 13-over 229, including a 7-over 79 in round three.
Santa Clara finished off the conference victory with an 18-under 846, defeating second-place New Mexico (12-under 852) by six shots and was seven strokes better than both UTEP and Wyoming (11-under 853) who tied for third. Nevada (8-under 856) finished fifth with Colorado State (5-under 859) and host Arizona (Even-par 864) finishing at even or better for the three-day event.
SFA now prepares for the meat of its spring season as the Lumberjacks will compete in five tournaments over the next six and a half weeks. First up for the ‘Jacks is a trip to Laredo for the 2016 Border Olympics. Hosted by Houston, the 54 hole tournament gets underway with two rounds on Friday, March 11, leading into the final round on Saturday, March 12.
2016 National Invitational Tournament Final Results
| Place | Golfer | Score |
| T-21st | Luke Sheehan | 71-72-72=215 (-1) |
| T-31st | Major Monzingo | 77-67-74=218 (+2) |
| T-37th | Nathan Weant | 72-76-72=220 (+4) |
| T-48th | Angelo Leyvani | 73-75-74=222 (+6) |
| 68th | Tony Underwood | 74-76-79=229 (+13) |
| 11th | Stephen F. Austin | 290-290-292=872 (+8) |
-SFA-
