TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's golf program made positive strides during the fall campaign that has it excited for the championship portion of its program that starts in March.
 
The balanced Tigers had four different players lead or share team-best honors during each of their five fall tournaments. There were standout performances from veterans and impressive efforts from newcomers.
 
The Tigers finished in the top half of their final two fall events. They were eighth at the Elon Phoenix Invitational and fourth at the Towson Fall Invitational. The Tigers displayed plenty of poise and resilience in shaving 21 strokes off of their first round score to their final round score during the Healthplan Mountaineer Invitational hosted by West Virginia despite competing in rainy conditions.
 
Third-year head coach Mike Larkin expects the improvement to continue into the spring.
 
"The biggest area of growth was the steady improvement from an uncharacteristic first tournament," Larkin said. "After Missouri's event the guys got right back to work on doing the things that make them successful and built on that the rest of the season. They got better every tournament as we went along. This semester is one that we look at and see that we had very good opportunities to win a couple of events, and with a little more attention to detail we would have done just that."
 
Individually, Towson was led by senior Spencer Alexander's 71.9 average. He ended strong by leading Towson at the Elon Phoenix Invitational (-10) and finishing third overall. Alexander's 10-under at Elon was tied for the third best 54-hole score in program history. He shot season low 67s (-4) in both the second and third rounds at Elon. He finished tied for 11th overall at the Towson Invitational (+1) along with sophomores Derek Gold and Justin Griffith.
 
Freshmen Brad Riley and Jeremy Summerson made an immediate impact. In averaging a 73.5 over 10 rounds, Riley led Towson with six eagles, which was tied for second nationally. Riley led Towson at the Doc Gimmler Invitational. For good measure, Riley also had a hole-in-one on a par 4 during a practice round at the Mountaineer Healthplex Invitational. Summerson averaged 74.0 over 10 rounds and had four rounds of par or better.
 
"Spencer was solid in each event he played in this fall, and he's kind of that anchor guy for us as our only senior," Larkin said. "Brad joined us and had an impact right away. Being towards the top of the nation in eagles in his first semester of his college career is something I'm sure he'll remember for a long time, but at the end of the day, I know he's not satisfied with his performance. Jeremy is in that same boat. For freshman, their performances so far have been great, but they also both came away dissatisfied knowing how much better it really could have been."
 
Sophomore Hayden Rousselle led Towson in its first event of the fall at the Turning Stone Invitational. Rousselle tied a career low with a two-under 70 at the Turning Stone Invitational. Griffith was Towson's top finisher at the Healthplan Mountaineer Invitational. Griffith's best effort of the fall was a final round even par 71 at the Elon Phoenix Invitational.
 
Junior Jackson Courtney was a steady force for Towson. He competed in five events and finished with a 77.0 average over 13 rounds. Had his only round of even par 71 in the final round of the Elon Phoenix Invitational.
 
"It's exciting to get to work and look towards the future with our program," Larkin said. "That's been exciting in team meetings – looking at how close we really were to breaking through (to win some tournaments) and that's driving everyone to prepare for the spring. The way this group gets along is what has set them apart so far. They have a ton of fun together, which is fun to watch. There's a healthy competition between them, even in practice rounds, that's pushing them all to be better."
 
The spring 2020 schedule will be released at a later date.