HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Lafayette Men's Golf team surged to a large lead following two rounds of golf on Saturday and cruised home on Sunday en route to a record-setting performance in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational Tournament hosted by Colgate at the par-72 Seven Oaks Golf Club.

The Leopards total of 279-287-301 for a tournament record +3, bested the previous mark of 8-over by Binghamton in 2003. Lafayette sophomore Brendan Cronin was under par all three rounds, including a blistering 66 to start the tournament. Cronin followed that up with rounds of 69 and 71 for a tournament-record -10. This score shattered the previous best 4-under by Colgate's Ricky Hayes in 2007 and also was nine shots clear of any player in the 2018 field of 90 competitors.

"I have been coaching now at Lafayette for 17 years and I can't ever remember any team that has had such a commanding lead after the first day," said head coach Jim Hutnik. "To have a 19-stroke lead, you are talking almost five strokes per man. I have seen teams play well in spurts where they play well the first round and then come back to the pack, but we had everything click in both rounds on Saturday."

After 36 holes, the Leopards had four players in the top-15 with Cronin (1st), freshman  Kazuki Osawa (2nd), sophomore Cole Berger (T-3rd) and junior Will Halamandaris (T-15th). While Lafayette may have slipped a little on Sunday, the hot start was still enough to coast to the team title by double digits over Drexel (+13), Cornell (+14) and Seton Hall (+15).

Especially satisfying to Hutnik was seeing the Leopards play well in a tournament field that included four other Patriot League institutions - Lehigh (+19), Colgate (+25), Bucknell (+38) and Army West Point (+42).

"We were optimistic that we had a pretty good club and if we could put it together and see if we can take it on the road," Hutnik said. "Brendan certainly proved that he could - he was on target both days. It just shows what hard work can do. He had a great summer and came back to prove himself that he is one of the better players not only on our team, but in the league."

Next up on the fall schedule for Lafayette is a trip to Virginia to participate in the Patriot Intercollegiate tournament hosted by George Mason on October 22-23 at the Laurel Hill Golf Club.