COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio -- Rocky River placed fourth in Monday's Midview Invitational held at Columbia Hills Country Club.
The fast and undulating greens of Columbia Hills were story of the day, but a solid effort by the Pirates landed wins against 10 other squads in the 14-team field. The Double-R carded a four-man score of 329 on the par-72, 6,019-yard layout.
The Pirates were led by freshman Nick Tianello, who scored a 40-38--78 in posting a River top-2 for the third straight event. Tianello struggled on the five par-3s at Columbia Hills, but he played the other 13 holes in a crisp 2-over.
Tianello also scored a 78 in Saturday's St. Edward Invitational at Oberlin Country Club.
"Back-to-back 78s on those courses is impressive," said Head Coach David Hendrickson of the performances registered by the River rookie. "Today was a really good round on a challenging track. Nick rebounded well when he had any missteps."
Will Bennett finished as Rocky River's No. 2. Bennett fired a 43-39--82. Posting his best 18-hole round since Aug. 20, Aidan McDonald carded an 83. River's fourth score (86) was earned by Luke Dietrich.
Monday's tournament -- won by the Avon Eagles -- was hosted by Midview High School.
The fourth-place finish for River continues what has been a tremendous month for the Swinging Corsairs. The Pirates are 9-2 over 11 matches. In two large-field tournaments, they have finished fifth and fourth.
CANNON FIRE ...
AIDAN COMFORT: With his 83 Monday, senior Aidan McDonald has averaged an 83.4 since Sept. 3. That figure is nearly five strokes lower than the 88.3 he averaged over his first eight events this season.
GR-EIGHT START: Nick Tianello has played in eight varsity matches in his freshman season. He owns a fine 80.5 average over those eight matches.
by Skip Snow
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