IU finishes 10th at UCF/Rio Pinar Invite

For the first time since the Northern Intercollegiate golf tournament last September, the IU men's golf team did not finish first place. The Hoosiers entered the UCF/Rio Pinar Invitational, the opening tournament of the spring, ranked as high as No. 19, but were unable to overcome a lackluster first day effort and finished No. 10 in a field of 18. South Alabama took first place after a playoff against host Central Florida. \nIU coach Mike Mayer was disappointed with the performance.\n"It was just one of those tournaments. We got off to a tough start and didn't get anything positive going," Mayer said. "Today, we went in looking to improve on the mistakes we made yesterday, and we did that. Overall, we just didn't make the shots or putts when we needed to."\nThe Hoosiers opened the tournament Monday by carding a team score of 601 over the first 36 holes, placing them eighth entering Tuesday. During the final round, the Hoosiers could not put together the performance needed to bring them back into contention. \nTuesday, no Hoosier carded a score lower than 75, though both juniors Jeff Overton and Mike Birkenfeld matched the score. \nOverton once again led the way for the Hoosiers. The Evansville native entered the tournament as the top-ranked golfer in the country after winning all four fall tournaments. But medalist honors would go to South Alabama Gareth Maybin this time. Overton finished with a total of 218, good enough to tie for twelfth.\nOverton said it was a tough tournament, but he is already looking ahead to the team's next event -- the St. Croix Collegiate Classic.\n"I hit some bad shots," Overton said. "It was different playing outside. It was not physically tough, but mentally, it was difficult. I just have to get over this tournament and come back strong at St. Croix."\nJunior Heath Peters also said it was tough at Rio Pinar, but was still able to take positives away from the finish.\n"My touch shots were off," Peters said. "Overall, my ball striking was good. It was tough, especially on the grass for the first time this season. This was a good learning experience."\nPeters finished in a tie for No. 38 with freshman teammate David Butwell. Both shot a 228. Rounding out the Hoosier lineup were Birkenfeld with a 231, tying for No. 52, and senior Ryan Cassidy, whose total of 238 tied for No. 73. \nDespite the setback, Mayer remains confident his team can fix its problems. \n"We have to learn from this tournament," Mayer said. "We know what we need to work on, and we'll just move on to St. Croix, which is a much bigger event, and correct them."\nThe Hoosiers will participate in the St. Croix Collegiate Classic, March 5-7. The three-day tournament will be held at the Carambola Golf Club in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. \n-- Contact staff writer Charlie Gillingham at .