After shooting a school-record two-under-par 70, Lee Bloom '10 entered a one-hole playoff against University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth senior Tyler Kett for first place at the Jack Berry Massachusetts Institute of Technology Invitational last Saturday. Like he had on 14 of the previous 18 holes, Bloom shot a par, putting himself in a strong position to continue playing. Unfortunately for Bloom, Kett drove the ball to the green in two shots and hit a birdie to secure the win.

"I played the hole exactly like I wanted," Bloom said. "I made a good drive and had a good second [shot]. My third was a little short, but I made par. [Kett] was really long, and he hit the front of the green in two and only needed two putts for a birdie."

Bloom may not have taken first place, but he and the rest of the golf team ended the spring season on a high note. He had the best single-round score in school history, and the Judges' third-place total of 307 was also a school record. The Judges were just six strokes behind tournament winner Johnson and Wales University and five strokes behind second-place UMass Dartmouth.

Brandeis also took fourth place out of seven teams at the Johnson and Wales Invitational last Friday and seventh place out of 13 teams at the Worcester State University Sterling Invitational last Tuesday.

Bloom posted the best individual score on the team in each of those prior tournaments, but surpassed both those scores last Saturday. He bogeyed just one hole while hitting three birdies.

"Lee hit the ball great all day. He hit almost every fairway. He only missed two or three greens. . To only have one bogey on this difficult golf course is quite an accomplishment," coach Bill Shipman said.

In his final collegiate match, Alex Botwick '08 supplemented Bloom's round with a two-over-par 74, good for fifth place overall. He attributed his success to his familiarity with the golf course.

"I've played this course seven or eight times over the past four years. It gave me a little confidence going into the round, knowing where to hit it on most holes and what to expect," Botwick said.

Charles Sacks '11, who became the first Brandeis player to earn all-University Athletic Association status since 2003 after a 10th-place finish at the UAA Championships April 12 to 15, shot a seven-over par 77 last Saturday, while Aaron Hattenbach '09 and Jeff Stein '08 each shot a 16-over par 86.

"Jeff Stein was trying so hard that he was a little bit out of his element. He made a lot of bogeys that normally if he was a little more relaxed he would have made par," Shipman said. "He could have shot four or five shots lower. His mistakes were more putting a little too much effort rather than any mistakes he made."

Even though the Judges finished in third, they proved to be competitive against Division I teams such as Johnson and Wales. The Judges also defeated their Division III rival Babson College by 13 strokes.

The Judges also competed at the Johnson and Wales Invitational last Friday, shooting a 315 and finishing fourth out of seven teams. Botwick and Bloom tied for ninth place overall, both scoring a 77. Sacks shot a round of 80, Stein scored an 81 and Ralph Harary '09 fired an 85.

"It was course we hadn't played before, so we made some mistakes just from course knowledge and strategy. It was a more difficult golf course," Shipman said.

With their spring season complete, the Judges will say goodbye to five seniors, two of whom-Botwick and Stein-were regular starters. Bloom and Sacks headline the returnees.