ROCKVILLE, Md. – Loyola University Maryland's Eli Spaulding shot a 4-under 66 to close his first collegiate tournament on Tuesday, finishing tied for second at the Howard/USF Intercollegiate.
 
The freshman from Freeport, Maine, had the Greyhounds' best round of the tournament at Manor Country Club, carding five birdies and a single bogey to wrap up the competition as the top Loyola player on the leaderboard.
 
He is the first freshman to lead Loyola golf in a tournament since Brandon Berry did so by finishing third at The Doc Gimmler in 2017, and Spaulding's second-place finish is the best by a freshman since Matt Oshrine won The Doc Gimmler at Bethpage Red in 2014.
 
Jackson Roman finished in the top-10, as well for the Greyhounds who took second in the team standings behind champion Princeton.
 
Roman opened the 54-hole event with an even-par 70 on Monday morning, and he came back to shoot 1-under 69 in the afternoon. On Tuesday, Roman had three birdies in a row on 14, 15 and 16 en route to a 1-over 71 and tie for seventh place.
 
Spaulding shot a 1-under 69 in his first collegiate round on Monday and finished the day even after a 1-over 71 in the afternoon. He opened Tuesday's final round with birdies on his first two holes, the course's second and third, before stringing together six-straight pars to make the turn to the course's back-nine.
 
He birdied the 10^th hole to get to 3-under for the day before his only boxed number of Monday came at the 13^th with a bogey five. Spaulding quickly shook off that hole with birdies on the 14^th and 15^th holes before making par on his final four of the day.
 
Mike Crowley and Garrett Kessler finished tied for 18^th and 21^st, respectively, while Connor McGarrity tied for 38^th in the 71-player field.
 
Loyola will take a week off before returning to the course for its next tournament. The Greyhounds head to Annapolis, Maryland, for The Goat, an event hosted by Navy and the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course. Play will begin with 36 holes on Saturday, September 21, before wrapping up with a final 18 the next day.