DADE CITY, Fla. – Trailing by two shots with two holes to play, junior Tomas Millet finished birdie-par to overcome Saint Leo's Alberto Castagnara by one stroke en route to his first career victory on Tuesday at the Saint Leo Invitational. Millet fired a two-under par 70 for the second consecutive round, ultimately posting a 54-hole score of eight-under par, while Nova Southeastern collectively earned third among the field's 12 teams.

INSIDE THE TOURNAMENT:
Tournament Finish: 3rd of 12 teams
Tournament Champion: Saint Leo
Location: Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club | Dade City, Fla.
Par/Yardage: 72/7,153
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Overall as a team, the Sharks weren't quite able to carry Monday's rhythm into Tuesday. Despite entering the morning with a four-shot cushion, head coach Joey Marino's bunch carded a final-round score of (+14) 302 to wind up in third at seven-over par for the tournament.
• Like NSU, the remainder of the field also took a step back on Tuesday, although host Saint Leo (+3) managed to hold off Keiser (+4) by one stroke to collect the team trophy.
• Valdosta State captured fourth with a final score of 13-over par, while Lee rounded out the Top-5 at 14-over par.
• Facing a two-stroke deficit to begin the final round, Millet opened with a pair of birdies over his first six holes. Back-to-back bogeys on No. 7 and No. 8 could've been the start of a downward trend. However, the Spaniard to respond with two straight pars on No. 9 and No. 10 before sinking two more birdies on No. 11 and No. 13. Following a par on No. 16, Millet still trailed Castagnara by two shots. He proved up to the challenge, though, and birdied No. 17 to go along with a par on No. 18, as his opponent slipped up with consecutive bogeys down the stretch to allow for the come-from-behind win.
• Victor Jimenez finished on a high note by birdieing No. 18, yet likely would've liked a few holes back during his final-round 78. The effort came one day after posting rounds of 72 and 71, landing him in a tie for 15^th on the leaderboard.
• Following an up-and-down front nine, freshman Emanuel Olofsson settled in nicely by playing even-par golf on the back. His second round of 76 on the week moved him into a tie for 21^st with a final score of seven-over par.
• Identical to Jimenez, Mike Hay and George Mills also posted rounds of (+6) 78 on Tuesday. Hay's performance pushed him to 10-over par for the tournament and in a tie for 31^st, while Mills closed out play in 53^rd at 18-over par overall.
• Competing as an individual this week, Jonny Cachon placed 75^th.

STATS OF THE DAY:

• The Sharks topped the field this week in Par-4 scoring average (4.09).
• Millet, meanwhile, individually led all players in Par-4 scoring average (3.90).
• NSU's 48 combined birdies throughout the tournament ranked third most.
• Scoring conditions played over three strokes tougher in the final round (78.32) as compared to round two (75.23).

BEYOND THE SCORECARD:

• Millet's win marks the first by an NSU player since Juan Jose Guerra took home the Southeastern Collegiate title on Mar. 12, 2019.
• Prior to Tuesday, Millet had failed to finish better than tied for 37^th in three previous tournament appearances in 2019-20.
• The Sharks finished ahead of two NCAA Division I programs in Bethune-Cookman and Monmouth in the standings.

UP NEXT:
NSU will have over a week away from competition before returning to the course Sun., Mar. 8 for the start of the Southeastern Collegiate, held at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Ga. To stay up-to-date with the Sharks, follow them on Twitter @NSU_MGolf.