NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In a season that has been one of the most memorable in coach Tom Farren's tenure, the Saint Mary's University men's golf team's performance at the Carleton Invitational was one he'd like to forget.

The Cardinals, who managed just one round in the 70s during Friday's opening round, rebounded with a solid round two, but it was too little, too late, as SMU settled for a fifth-place finish in the eight-team field.

"It wasn't one of our better weekends," said Farren. "When you look at the scores, we got some good efforts, but they were few and far between — we lacked the consistency we've had to this point."

Scott Savage (Mahtomedi, Minn.) led the way for SMU on Friday, posting a six-over-par 78. The rest of the field, however, did not follow his lead, as Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) added an 80, Kyle Roark (Waterloo, Iowa) notched an 82, and Justin Magill (Lake Elmo, Minn.) and Curtis Nosal (Omaha, Neb.) each ballooned to 88s.

Polk got his game back on track on Saturday, rifling an even-par 72 for a 152 total, Magill knocked nine shots off his first-round score to shoot 79—167, and Roark added an 80—162, but Savage couldn't equal his Day 1 79, shooting 83—161 and Nosal struggled to an 87—175.

"We really struggled (on Friday) — the conditions were tough and we just weren't able to make the adjustments," said Farren. "We did a better job (on Saturday), but even those scores aren't where we need them to be if we are going to make any noise (at next weekend's MIAC Championships).

"I know we can do better — hopefully we'll be able to put it all together next weekend."