GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The No. 2 University of North Georgia men's golf team took home Runner-Up honors while hosting the Third Annual Mizuno Intercollegiate on Tuesday morning. For the second tournament in a row, the Nighthawks shot 16-under as a team on the final day and 28-under overall. Both those marks are now tied with last week's instance as the second best 18-hole and 54-hole scoring marks in program history. 

UNG fell two shots shy of tournament winner No. 10 Lee who set Mizuno Intercollegiate 18-hole and 54-hole scoring records by finishing 30-under-par overall and 17-under on the final day.

Graduate student Jack Vajda had one of the best tournaments of his career, finishing 11-under-par with a final round 68 to earn individual medalist honors for the fourth time in his UNG career. Vajda's 11-under finish is not only the second best of his tenure, but it's also the third best individual 18-hole score in program history.

With rounds of 66 (-6), 71 (-1) and 68 (-4), Vajda was one of just five players in the entire 90-person field to record three rounds below par in the tournament. 

Vajda was accompanied in the top-10 by junior teammate Hunter Smith who shot six-under in total with back-to-back rounds of 69 (-3) in rounds two and three to earn himself a T-7 finish. It's the second-highest finish of Smith's career and his first top-10 placement since the UWF Argonaut Invitational (T-4th) last spring. 

Senior Hughes Threlkeld posted a three-under 69 as well in his final round to finish the tournament at three-under and T-16. Threlkeld was joined by sophomore Colby Bennett who highlighted an up and down tournament with a final round 66 to finish three-under and T-16 overall as well. 

Bennett, a second-year player for head coach Bryson Worley, has been inserted to the lineup in each of the first two tournaments of the year for Worley. Bennett, who only played in 10 rounds over four events in his first collegiate season last year, may be a key addition for UNG this season. 

While he has gone through the growing pains of a developing second-year player, Bennett's talent and ability to get hot rivals even the most senior ranking members of UNG's squad. 

In round one of the intercollegiate, Bennett was three-under par and looking like he was going to make a run for the podium. However, he finished his last three holes with a double-bogey and a bogey to shoot an even 72. In round two, perhaps the deflating finish from round one carried over into a three-over 75. 

Out of the scoring and looking up the leaderboard, Bennett knew it would be a long day on Tuesday. Yet that didn't deter him when he teed it up on the third hole at 9 am. 

The Greensboro, Ga. native immediately birdied his first hole. While he bogeyed the next, Bennett would get three more birdies over the next four holes to suddenly sit at even par for the tournament. As he headed for the challenging back nine, he kept his hot streak going with birdies at 14, 16 and 18. His final round 66 was tied for the lowest round of the tournament. 

Senior Ethan Day recovered after a 74 in the opening round with consecutive two-under rounds of 70 to finish at two-under overall and T-25 on the leaderboard. Day's final round was bogey free as he posted birdies at holes 5 and 16 on the round. 

Other Nighthawk notables included junior Connor Horton who was competing as a member of UNG's third team in the event, commonly referred to as the "C" team. Horton went out and shot 71 (-1) and 73 (+1) before finishing with a three-under 69. Horton carded six birdies to combat a bogey and double-bogey in his final round. He finished tied with Bennett at T-16 individually.