MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Two first-year players led the charge for the Skidmore College golf team on Sunday as the Thoroughbreds finished fifth at the Duke Nelson Invitational at Middlebury. The team improved four spots on the team standings with a second-round team score of 298.

• The fifth-place finish is Skidmore's best in the tournament since it won in 2016.
• First-year Jaden Cheng put together a steady round of even-par 71 behind 14 pars and a pair of birdies. He tied for 15^th.
• Fellow newcomer Derek Thomas had the highlight of the day for Skidmore: an eagle-3 on the par-5 11^th. He then carded a birdie-2 on No. 12, one of four birdies in his second round. Thomas finished with a 74 and tied for 32^nd.
• Patrick McLaughlin overcame a 5-over start over his first five holes by playing his final 13 at even par with a pair of birdies to shoot a 76 and finish tied for 24^th.
• Johnny Hwang and Rudraksha Banerjee both finished tied for 46^th with rounds of 77 and 79, respectively.
• Skidmore finished third in the tournament with 22 team birdies. Thomas was second in the field playing the par-5s at 3-under, and McLaughlin was one of three players to play the par 4s at even.
• Amherst overcame Babson to capture the team title by four shots.
• Babson's Jack Berry held his overnight lead and won medalist honors by six.

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Skidmore will compete in a 54-hole tournament at Williams next weekend.