ST. PAUL, Minn. – After taking a tournament "off" — losing to Winona State in a dual meet last Saturday, the Saint Mary's University men's golf team went right back to its record-setting ways at the St. Thomas Invitational.

The Cardinals, fueled by the play of Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) and Justin Magill (Lake Elmo, Minn.), posted a school-record 36-hole total of 620 to place fifth in the 10-team event, which concluded Sunday.

"It was another solid performance," said SMU coach Tom Farren, whose team beat fellow MIAC schools Bethel, St. Olaf, Macalester and Carleton, while finishing 15 strokes behind third-place Augsburg and just 13 back of St. Thomas' fourth-place showing. "Sunday's opening round was tough – it was hot and windy — but our guys did a good job of battling through. We played better (on Monday), but then, everyone played better the second day."

Magill finished with rounds of 77-75—152 to lead the Cardinals, while Polk, fueled by a team-best 73 on Monday, was three shots back at 155 (82-73). Scott Savage (Mahtomedi, Minn.) finished with a 77-79—156, followed by Kyle Roark (Waterloo, Iowa / 75-82—157) and Curtis Nosal (Omaha, Neb. / 82-83—165).

"It was good for us to go up against the other teams in the conference, just to see how we stack up," said Farren. "I think we showed that we are in position to make some real noise (at the MIAC Championships)."