The University of Hartford men’s golf team looks for success as they proceed with the early stages of their season.

The team opened up play on Sept. 21, the first day of the Hartford Hawks Invitational, in South Kent, Connecticut at the Bull’s Bridge Golf Club, playing host to 20 teams in total.

The Hawks were able to put on a strong showing after day one of the invitational as they tied for sixth place.

The frontrunner of the team’s success was senior William Betts.

Betts finished one stroke under par at the conclusion of the first round, and shaved five strokes off of that score and carded a 66 over the final 18 holes. Ultimately, he totaled a score of 137 (-7). In addition, over the two rounds, Betts birdied nine times while recording one eagle on the day.

As a team, Hartford finished four strokes above par for a score of 580.

Junior Atle Ruden finished the day tied for 26th place. He finished five strokes above par after carding a 77 in the first round and a 70 in the second.

With a score of 148 (+4), freshman Sam McNulty tied for 31, while senior Evan Russell entered day two in 42nd place after combining to shoot 150 (+6).

Junior Matthew DePalma’s 155 over the two rounds gave him a ranking of No. 67 after day one.

The Hawks also had two individuals compete in the invitational.

Sophomore Lucas Sapin bettered his first round score of 77 by finishing two strokes below par in the second round. He closed the day with a score of 147 (+3).

Concluding the Hawks’ golfers is junior Jon Malloy, who recorded a 155 (+11) on the day.

The invitational picked up right where it left off as the team found its greatest success in the second round as it combined for the third-lowest score of that round at 285 strokes.

Three Hawks shot their lowest score during that stretch, including Betts, who carded a season-best 66.

McNulty, who tied for 21st place overall, turned in a score of 73 in each of his final two rounds to finish at 221 (+5) while Atle Ruden shot a 70 in the second round and finished the two-day event with a 229 (+13) for 51 place.

Senior Russell landed at 35th place with a score of 225 while DePalma tied for 65th with a score of 233 (+17).

A pair of Hawks competed in the invitational as individuals as Sapin totaled 223 (+7) points to finish in a tie for 29th place. Sapin also had an impressive showing in the second round, firing off a 70.

Rounding out the Hartford golfers was Jon Malloy, who combined for a score of 234 (+18) to finish tied for 69th place.

Betts took home fourth place honors on Tuesday afternoon as he led the team to a fourth place finish. Finishing six strokes under par for a score of 210, Betts has paced the Hawks in each of their two competitions this season.

The Hawks are surely off to a good start to their season as they finished four out of 15 in their first invitational and six out of 20 in their last outing.

There is much optimism and room to progress as the ceiling is limitless for the men’s golf team from here on out.

From the way that the men’s golf team has been playing they are looking like they are going to have a great season and they are poised for greatness.