TOURNAMENT RESULTS

CHINO HILLS, Calif. --- Biola's men's golf team opened the 2009-10 season with an impressive performance, taking third at the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Los Serranos Golf Club in Chino Hills.

The Eagles shot a 27-over-par 891 over the course of the three-round tournament, placing third in the three-team field. Biola finished just five shots back of California Baptist University, which was among the 10 best teams in the NAIA in 2008-09.  Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won its own tournament with an 8-under 856.

Biola jumped out to an early lead in the tournament with a 292 (four-over-par), the lowest round in school history. After a tough 303 in the second round, the Eagles fought back with another strong round with a 296 in the final round. All three rounds ended up being lower than Biola had recorded before in the previous two seasons of varsity golf.

Sophomore John Graham took top honors for the Eagles with an even-par 216. He opened the tournament with a school-record round of 71, one-under par for the course. After a 76 in the second round, he broke his own record with a three-under 69 in the final round on Tuesday.

Freshman Joshua Mathis recorded an eight-over 224, tying for eighth place overall in his first collegiate tournament. Senior Mike Belligie was 11th overall with a 10-over 226, followed by freshman Jordan Swanson, who carded an 11-over 227 for the tournament.

Junior Tim Goodfriend rounded out the scoring with a 26-over 242.

The strong round for the Eagles bumped them up to No. 15 in the Golfstat/NAIA Head-to-Head rankings. The comprehensive rankings measure how Biola stacks up against the other 125 NAIA schools. The complete rankings can be found at http://www.golfstat.com/2009-2010/men/mnaiahth.htm.