PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.—Sophomore Matt Minerva (Elmsford, N.Y.) tied for individual medalist honors with a round of even-par 70 at the Temple Spring Invite on Saturday afternoon. Minerva was one of two players in the field to break par on the 6,951-yard course at The 1912 Club and finished tied atop the leaderboard with Conor McGrath of Temple who was playing on his home course. Four local teams competed in Saturday's one-round tournament and Villanova came in second with a team round of 300 (+20) on the day.
 
Minerva was playing as an individual in the tournament and made four birdies in his round to finish with a score of even par or better for the third time this season and the second time in his last three starts. He teed off from the sixth hole in a shotgun start and parred both the sixth and seventh holes before notching the first of his four birdies at the 438-yard, par-4 eighth. He later birdied the 12^th and 13^th holes in succession to push his score to -2.
 
Minerva was at +1 through 17 holes when he birdied the 455-yard, par-4 fifth hole. That made him the leader in the clubhouse with his round of 70, while McGrath from Temple was still on the course with a one-shot lead. McGrath had started his round from the first tee and wound up making bogey on the 17^th and 18^th holes to drop back into a tie for the lead. Minerva parred each of those holes during his round and was the lone player in the field to play the par-4's below par for the day (-1).
 
The top player in the Wildcats lineup was graduate student Ambrose Abbracciamento (Newtown, Pa.) who shot 72 (+2) for the day and tied for a sixth place overall finish. Abbracciamento birdied No. 6 and No. 13 during his round, and was also the only player in the field to make par at each of the five par-3's on the course. Senior Reb Banas (Winnetka, Ill.) was also in the top-10 individually after carding a round of 74 (+4) which included birdies at the third, 11^th, 12^th and 15^th holes.
 
Villanova had three players post identical scores of 77 (+7) on Saturday, with the trio including freshman Peter Weaver (Frontenac, Mo.), junior Noah Peck (Hunt Valley, Md.) and senior Max Siegfried (Villanova, Pa.). They each tied for 14^th place in the field. Peck had two birdies in his round and Siegfried recorded one.
 
Villanova is getting set to host the Wildcat Invitational this coming Monday and Tuesday at Radnor Valley Country Club. The tournament gets started with tee times on Monday morning. The event is closed to members of the public.