Feb. 23, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's golf team will compete in the 26th annual Anteater Invitational next week, marking the second event of the spring season for the Broncos. Hosted by UC Irvine, the tournament will take place Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 27-28) at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa.

In addition the Broncos and the host Anteaters, this year's tournament field includes Arizona, UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly, Pacific and UM-Kansas City. Santa Clara has competed in the event two of the past three years, notching a 10th place finish in 2003 and a fifth place finish in 2004.

The Broncos enter next week's action riding a come-from-behind championship at the Rice Intercollegiate in Missouri City, Texas earlier this month. After a slow first round, Santa Clara battled back from eighth place to take the top position in the event. Senior Michael Nicoletti led the Bronco effort with a three-round total of 219, good for a tie for second in the field. Fellow senior John Colyar finished the event tied for 12th while Eric Lillibridge shot a par second round to bring him into a tie for 16th place. The tournament championship was the third of the year for the Broncos, as the squad has earned the top spot in three of five events so far this season.

The Broncos are led but a trio of seniors in Nicoletti, Colyar and Lillibridge. Nicoletti enters next week's action with a 72.47 round average and three top-five finishes. Lillibridge and Colyar have combined for five par or under rounds and six top-20 finishes.

Play begins on Monday with two 18-hole rounds at the par-70 course. The final round will take place on Tuesday morning. The next event for the Broncos is the Braveheart Classic scheduled for Mar. 6-7 in Beaumont.