Complete results

MYRTLE BEACH, N.C. – Rhode Island's Bryson Richards and Tony Liu finished fourth and fifth on the individual leader board to spark the Rams to a fifth-place finish at the Surf Club Invitational Tuesday.

Liu fired a 3-under par for the second straight round to finish 6-under for the tournament. He had five birdies in the final round, helping him move up three spots on the leader board.

Richards was Rhode Island's top finisher, carding a final-round 69. He finished fourth for the second straight year at the event. He also had five birdies on Tuesday and was just three strokes off the pace of Addison Beam from Appalachian State and Ray Dennehy of Connecticut. Beam took medalist honors in a playoff.

The play of Richards and Liu, along with Josiah Tong (+4) and Geronimo Narizzano (+9) helped the Rams move up three spots in the team standings. Tong was 1-under par over the final two rounds. After scoring seven-over in the opening round, Rhode Island was seven-under par over the final two rounds.

UConn won the team title by 14 strokes over Radford. Appalachian State and Butler were in the top four, while Rhody and Delaware tied for fifth place.

Rhode Island plays next at the Carpetbagger Classic March 16-17, where it will defend the team title it has won in back-to-back years.

Head Coach Gregg Burke Said...
"This was a great event for us. We have never played well here mostly because it was the first event of the season. This year it took us just one round to shake off the cobwebs. It bodes well for us, but we have to remember the hard work it took to get here.

"You go south to find out who you are, what you need to work on, and who is ready.  We probably confirmed more of our thoughts than learned anything new, but we seem to be a bit stronger in the top three spots than we might have thought.
 
"Last semester I said that we didn't have the toughness that has been our hallmark.  Well Josiah and Geronimo showed that we do. Josiah went from five over in the first round to three under in the second. He was five over after seven holes today and finished one over for the day. Without his best stuff and really struggling, he came back to make five birdies. That will make him a tournament winner one day. 

"Geronimo never quit. He dug himself into a hole or two but climbed back out through grit and determination. He was huge for us today because guys saw he was red for a long time and they drafted off him.

"Bryson was Bryson. If you take his wedge play, normally a strength, out of the mix, no one played better than he did. He is in a good place and will win before the season is over.
 
"Zero surprise that Tony finished fifth. Truth be told, it could have been much better.  He made one bad swing today and it cost him two shots or he would have had another bogeyless round. When we recruited him, I felt he would be our top player for three years. He is at the point where he is chasing Bryson's numbers."

Team Standings (Final)
1. Connecticut – 278-274-273-825
2. Radford – 284-276-279-839
3. Appalachian State – 283-282-275-840
4. Butler – 280-286-277-843
t5. Rhode Island – 291-281-572
t5. Delaware - 282-285-285-852
t7. Presbytarian College – 286-286-281-853
t7. Long Island Univ. – 283-287-283-853
9. Queens University (Charlotte) – 282-285-287-854
10. Holy Cross – 287-287-288-857
t11. Central Michigan – 291-283-289-863
t11. Appalachian State B – 291-283-288-862
13. Dayton – 300-288-277-865
16. North Carolina Central – 307-286-282-875
t15. Le Moyne – 303-288-289-880
515. Bucknell – 298-293-289-880
17. North Carolina A&T – 296-306-297-899
18. Maryland Eastern Shore – 314-312-297-923