NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Now that's more like it.

Just a week after struggling to a 13th-place showing at the St. John's Invitational, the Saint Mary's University men's golf team showed signs of the potential that coach Tom Farren had been bragging about all season.

Led by Scott Savage's (Mahtomedi, Minn.) 77 and a 79 by Curtis Nosal (Omaha, Neb.), the Cardinals found themselves tied for third place after the opening round of the Carleton Invitational, a tournament which included every golf team that will be competing in the MIAC Championships in two weeks.

And, unlike their performances of the past, this time around, the Cardinals backed up that stellar first-round effort with an equally impressive second-round showing.

SMU posted three more rounds in the 70s — including a 77 by Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) and a 78 by Savage — and held on to their third-place standing, finishing with a team total of .636, just 15 shots back of Gustavus' winning total of 621.

Savage, who finished tied for seventh with his 155 total, was the lone Cardinal to post back-to-back rounds in the 70s. Polk followed up an opening-round 83 with his team-low 77 for a 160 total, equaled by Nosal, who went 79-81. Mark Miller (Winona, Minn.) chipped in an 82-79—161, while Kyle Roark (Waterloo, Iowa) shot 83-85—168.