RICHMOND, Ky. – Longwood men's golf wrapped up its first competition of the fall Saturday morning at the EKU Invitational and saw sophomore Nick Rakes rise to the top of the team leaderboard to finish two-over at the three-round tournament hosted at The Club at Arlington.
 
Rakes, who last season competed in every one of Longwood's rounds as a true freshman, turned in a two-day score of 73-70-69—212 (+2) to settle into a tie for 17th overall in the 92-player field. His final-round 69 was a top-20 performance on the last day of the tournament and featured three birdies and just two holes over par.
 
Rakes' senior teammate Payo Larrain, competing as an independent, turned in Longwood's second-best performance of the tournament with a 76-68-73—215 (+5), earning 31st place overall. His round-two 68 on day one Friday was the fifth-lowest mark of that round, trailing only teammate Daniel George's 65 and three others.
 
However, with Larrain's performance not contributing to Longwood's team score and a challenging final day on the par-70, 6,653-yard course, the Lancers could not repeat the round-two surge that elevated them to seventh place Friday afternoon. The team's final-round 291 (+11) dropped the Lancers to 11th place and a final score of 292-279-291—862 (+22).
 
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to do what we had planned today," said Longwood head coach Kevin Fillman. "We'll definitely use today as a learning experience and will be better for it. I was happy to see Nick hang in there without his best game and fight to post an under-par round."
 
The final-round score offset a Friday afternoon surge from Longwood's five-player contingent of Rakes, Christian Michael, Scott Jordan, Daniel George and Brendan Dunphy, whose combined second-round core of 279 tied for the fourth-lowest in the tournament. Leading that charge was George, who played bogey-free golf on the way to a five-under 65 that was the best individual second-round of the day.
 
The Lancers will now get a week to prepare for their next tournament, which will take them to Huntington, W.Va., for the Joe Feaganes Invitational at Guyan Golf & Country Club on Sept. 13-14.
 
EKU Intercollegiate (hosted by Eastern Kentucky)
Sept. 3-4, 2021 (Final Results)
Richmond, Ky.
The Club at Arlington (Par 70 – 6,653 yards)
 
Team Results
1. Western Carolina (271-279-275—825, -15)
2. Dayton (281-276-279—836, -4)
3. Jacksonville State (279-277-282—838, -2)
4. Morehead State (284-283-277—844, +4)
5. Eastern Kentucky (292-272-286—850, +10)
6. Marshall (287-280-284—851, +11)
T-7. Bellarmine (293-284-281—858, +18)
T-7. Purdue Fort Wayne (287-292-279—858, +18)
T-9. SIU Edwardsville (284-290-286—860, +20)
T-9. Murray State (292-285-283—860, +20)
11. Longwood (292-279-291—862, +22)
12. Ohio (292-289-282—863, +2)
13. Missouri State (294-289-281—864, +24)
14. Samford (285-290-290—865, +25)
15. Northern Kentucky (295-288-285—868, +28)
16. Austin Peay (298-287-289—874, +34)
 
Longwood Individual Results
T-17. Nick Rakes (73-70-69—212, +2)
T-36. Christian Michael (72-72-72—216, +6)
T-49. Scott Jordan (72-72-74—218, +8)
T-49. Daniel George (75-65-78—218, +8)
T-86. Brendan Dunphy (75-77-76—228, +18)
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T-31. Payo Larrain (76-68-73—215, +5) – competed as independent
 
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