Playing in his native Ohio, Longwood University junior golfer Nick Contini completed his highest career finish, coming in third as he posted a one-under 71 in the final round to lead the Longwood men’s golf team to a fourth-place finish at the Cleveland State Invitational on Tuesday at the par-72 Barrington Country Club.

A product of Granville, Ohio, Contini placed third overall among the field of 72 golfers and was one of four players in the field to finish under par in all three of his rounds.

His third-place finish improved on his previous career-best showing, a top-15 finish from last week’s Patriot Intercollegiate.

“I’m very proud of Nick’s performance,” said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. “He was fantastic the entire tournament. He was disappointed with his play today, which is good. Truth be told, he was out there with one of the best players in the country, and he handled himself like he more than belonged.”

Contini led the Lancers to a fourth-place finish Tuesday, ending the tournament with a 54-hole total of 289-277-299–865 (+1). Kent State captured the tournament title, finishing with a three-day total of 270-271-277—818 (-46). Oakland (862; -2) finished second, while Cleveland State (863; -1), Longwood and Malone (876; +12) rounded out the top five.

Coming off his first career under-par round in Monday’s second round, Teagan Stephenson, of the Lancers, posted his first top-20 finish, completing the final round with a 4-over 76 to finish tied for 20th overall. For Stephenson, it betters his 39th-place showing at last week’s Patriot Intercollegiate.

Meanwhile, Jordan Boulton finished tied for 31 on the leaderboard, carding a final round 3-over par 75, while Adam Szwed carded a 76 in the final round to finish at 9-over par for the tournament.
Playing as individuals, Sameer Qader posted a final round 80 to finish tied for 64, while Patrick Gobran posted a 92 in Tuesday’s round.

Longwood completes a stretch of four tournaments in a four-week span and will have three weeks to prepare for the Old Dominion/OBX Collegiate. That tournament will be played Oct. 23-25 at Kilmarlic Golf Club.