WATERLOO, Iowa – The St. Olaf College men's golf team began the spring portion of its schedule by tying for 11th out of 17 teams at the Upper Iowa University Spring Invite on Saturday and Sunday at Sunnyside Country Club.

St. Olaf compiled a two-day total of 655 (+79) to finish in a tie with Wartburg College over the two-day tournament. The Oles were 12th after shooting a 329 (+41) in Saturday's first round before moving level with Wartburg by improving to a 326 (+38) on Sunday.

Both days of the tournament featured winds gusting in excess of 20 miles per hour, with gusts reaching 30 miles per hour in Sunday's round. The second round also included rain in the morning and temps in the low 40s.

Junior Josh Sansom was St. Olaf's top finisher for the weekend, tying for 38th with a two-day total of 162 (+18). After an opening-round 83 (+11), the junior improved by four strokes on Sunday with a 79 (+7) to rise nine spots on the leaderboard.

Senior Tyler Leibl, sophomore Isaac Schmidt, and first year Ike Vessey were all within three shots of Sansom's total over the two rounds. Leibl was one shot off Sansom's pace with a 163 (+19) that included a second-round 79 (+7) that moved the senior up 11 spots to a tie for 41st.

Schmidt and Vessey posted identical two-round totals of 165 (+21) to tie for 46th. Schmidt had a team-best three birdies in his second-round 81 (+9), while Vessey put together the Oles' best round on Saturday with a 78 (+6).

St. Olaf finished with the second-highest number of pars of any team in the field with 92, trailing Luther College by one, but had the joint-lowest total of birdies (6) over the two rounds. Schmidt had four of the Oles' six birdies, while Vessey and Sansom tallied one apiece.

The Oles continue their spring at the Augsburg Spring Invite on Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14 at Keller Golf Course in Maplewood.