Malvern, Pa. – Villanova is in fifth place at 9-over after one day and 36 holes of the Wildcat Invitational at the par-71 White Manor Country Club. The Wildcats recorded rounds of 288 and 289. Rhode Island leads the pack at 10-under par.
 
Villanova was led by Matt Minerva, who finished 4-under for the day and tied for fourth on the individual leaderboard. He began his day with five birdies in his first 10 holes to get to 5-under. He gave a few back but ultimately finished the first round with a career-best 3-under 68. He followed with a remarkably consistent second round, notching two birdies and just one bogey for a 1-under 70.
 
Danny Dougherty shot 3-over in the first round, but did pick up two birdies along the way. His second round also featured two birdies, but fewer mistakes and settled down for a 1-over to bring him to 4-over through 36 holes and a tie for 20th.
 
Reb Banas is also tied for 20^th at 5-over after an up-and-down round in his first start of the year. Banas shot 4-over in the first round, but found his stroke in the second round to shoot just 1-over with three birdies.
 
Noah Peck makes three Wildcats at 5-over after rounds of 2-over and 3-over. His second round was exceptionally consistent with the only blemish being a double bogey on 14. Peck still had five birdies on the day.
 
It looked like disaster had struck for Jack O'Hara in the first round, who triple-bogeyed the par-four first hole, but quickly rebounded with two birdies in the next four holes to salvage the round and finish at just 2-over for the round. O'Hara carded a four-over 75 in the second round to finish 6-over on the day, just one back from the rest of the Wildcats.
 
Mark Benevento (+4), Matt Davis (+7) and Luke Alexander (+24) all competed as individuals.
 
The final round will begin tomorrow with split tees at 9 a.m. You can follow along on BirdieFire.com for the latest tournament scores, and @VillanovaGolf for updates.