The men’s and women’s golf teams participated in the 12th annual Start 2 Finish Classic at Lake Wales Country Club in Lake Wales, Florida on Feb. 21 and 22.

Behind the second-place overall finish by Talon Supak, the men’s team improved from last week’s San Antonio Shootout performance by placing sixth in a field of nine teams, scoring rounds of 298, 300, and 309 for a total of 907.

Faulkner University placed first overall with scores of 297, 297, and 289 (883).

The women’s team also placed sixth in a field of ten teams, as Kayla Yn earned a top-ten finish for her efforts.

Kaiser University led the field by 15 strokes with a 590 overall score (297,293).

Coming off a strong second-round performance in San Antonio, Supak ended the first round three shots under par, at 69, which led the field. Supak fired a 71, one under par, in the third round, but his 73 in the second round, in addition to Sam De’Ath of Weber International’s 65 in that round, was the crucial point in the tournament, as De’Ath nudged Supak for first-place honors by two strokes, 211 to 213.

Also sustaining strong play was Erik Thulien, who posted scores of 77, 73, and 75 for a total of 225, good enough for his second top-15 finish of this spring and third of the season.

The next time the men’s team sees action will be at home when they host the UIS Spring Invite at the Rail on March 19 and 20.

In the women’s field, the Prairie Stars improved a 332 first round by 20 strokes, scoring 312 in the second round of play. In addition to Yn, who had scores of 75 and 79 (154), Maria Espinosa contributed solid play with an 83 and 75 on her scorecards, which accumulated to a total of 158, registering another finish in the top 15 for the Stars.

Charlotte Ng had a career best at Lake Wales, as she posted scores of 86 and 79. Ng tied for 31st place along with her teammate Taryn Pittman, whose 84 and 81 first- and second-round scores rendered an identical 165 score.

Following their first tournament in 2016, the women’s golf team will tee off two weeks from now in the desert, as they will participate in the Red Rocks Invitational in Sedona, Arizona.