LAKELAND, Fla. – All five Nova Southeastern players shot even-par or better Tuesday, including a three-under par effort by Emanuel Olofsson, as the Sharks posted the low round of the afternoon at (-6) 282 to capture a third-place finish at the season-opening Matlock Collegiate Classic in Lakeland, Fla. Mike Hay finished as one of four Sharks among the Top-10, leading the way with a tie for third overall,

INSIDE THE TOURNAMENT:
Tournament Finish: 3rd of 15 Teams
Tournament Champion: Barry
Location: Lone Palm Golf Club | Lakeland, Fla.
Par/Yardage: 72/7,090
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• NSU opened the final round 12 shots back and fairly out of reach of winning the tournament, yet made a legitimate surge after posting the only round in red numbers. At 13-under for the tournament, the Sharks finished one stroke shy of second-place Florida Southern and only four off the pace of tourney champion Barry.
• West Florida (-5) was the only other team to conclude the 54-hole tournament under par.
• Teeing off on hole No. 4, Hay started par-birdie before making the turn at one-under for the round. Hiccups on No. 10 and No. 12 forced Hay to drop two shots. However, he'd get them back with birdies on No. 15 and again on No. 1 to wrap up the day at one-under for the round and five-under for the tournament. Hay's Top-5 finish marked his second of 2021-22 and the third overall for his career.
• Freshman Josep Serra came out on fire, birdieing two of his first three, and three of his first seven holes of the morning to pave the way for an even-par effort. Serra finished tied for sixth at three-under for the week, matching fellow Spaniard Joseba Torres, who shot a (-1) 71 in Tuesday's final round.
• Olofsson posted one of just two rounds in the 60s on Tuesday, draining four birdies – two on his last two holes – to climb into a share of 10^th at one-under for the tournament.
• Javier Calles scored in the red as well, registering a final round of (-1) 71 to earn a tie for 17^th with a 54-hole total of (+1) 217.

STATS OF THE DAY:

• NSU finished the tournament as the No. 1 team in Par-4 scoring average (4.01) and in total number of pars (176).
• Torres' Par-3 scoring average of 2.92 tied for the best in the field, while Hay's Par-4 scoring average of 3.93 also tied for the best in the field.
• The final round proved to be the toughest of the week with a scoring average of 75.85.

BEYOND THE SCORECARD:

• NSU touted four players among the leaderboard's Top-10. No other team had more than two finish within that range.
• Barry's A.J. Ewart (-12) collected individual medalist honors, defeating runner-up Elias Haavisto of West Florida by five strokes.

UP NEXT:
NSU will return to competition on Feb. 21 at the Saint Leo Invitational. For coverage, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Instagram and Twitter at @NSU_MGolf.