ORONA, CA — The University of La Verne men's golf team opened the spring season in dominating fashion, taking first as a team and boasting the top two individual performances at the Leopard Spring Invitational.

The Leopards finished with a score of 579, seven strokes ahead of second place No. 25 Cal Lutheran (586) in a tight competition between the top four teams. George Fox took third (587), and SCIAC rival No. 7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished in fourth place (589).

"We did pretty well out there. They were confident starting this weekend just because we are hosting the event so it's a home course, and I was able to see how well they can do on their own. I'm proud of what they did," said La Verne men's golf head coach Nathalie da Silva.

Jay Alvarado Wing took first individually, scoring -3, 137 on the par 70 course. Alvarado Wing shot a 68 to open the tournament and closed out with a 69 on day two. 

Teammate Jason Bustos (-1, 139) followed two strokes behind in second place. Bustos shot a 71 on day one and improved by three strokes on day two.

"Jay went out there and closed pretty strong. Jason finished the last holes with birdie, birdie. birdie. It was nice to see them perform well. The other guys stayed as level as they could. They were focused out there so I was pretty proud of what they did," said da Silva.

Four of La Verne's five golfers who contributed to the team score finished in the top 20. Connor Askey finished with 152, and Shreyas Kumaresh shot 153. Patrick Lagura finished with a 73 in round two but was disqualified in round one.

Three Leopards competing as individuals, Manuel Huerta (157), David Cho (160), and Noah Geeser (175) had solid outings. 

"It was nice to compete against SCIAC schools that are higher ranked than us. Beating them puts us in a good position and improves our chances of going to nationals," da Silva added.

The Leopards compete next at SCIAC No. 1, hosted by Chapman University at Costa Mesa Country Club.