Gulf Shores, Ala. - East Carolina freshman golfer recorded a pair of even-par rounds of 72 to claim his first collegiate top-10 finish at the Fall Beach Classic. The tournament was being played at the par-72, 7,239-yard Gulf Shores Golf Club.

The Pirates (37-40-2) placed four golfers in the top-29, which led to a fifth place finish with a final score of 893 (305-295-293). Senior Adam Howell finished tied for 20th with a score of 225 (76-72-77), while Ryan Neal shared the 27th spot and Philip Reale, II tied for 29th.

Reale provided the shot of the tournament when he holed out a double-eagle on the par-5 fifth hole from 237 yards out with his one-iron on Tuesday.

In the team portion of the tournament, Conference USA foe Louisville to home the team title with a three-round score of 873 (288-288-297), finishing one stroke ahead of UT-Arlington (874). Southern Miss (876) claimed third place honors, while Louisiana-Monroe (883) came in fourth followed by ECU and South Alabama in fifth place.

"I'm real proud of the way the Ryan Solan played this week. The team was able to respond with Adam (Howell) struggling a bit. We finished around .500 for the fall season, which is pretty impressive with the amount if inexperience we had on the team. Heading into the spring, we will be able to feed off of our recent success."

The Pirates will not compete again until the spring when they participate in the Rio Pinar-UCF Intercollegiate in February of 2005.

Top Pirate Finishes
T9. Ryan Solan 77-72-72=221
T20. Adam Howell 76-72-77=225
T27. Ryan Neal 75-77-74=226
T29. Philip Reale, II 77-78-72=227
T35. Robin Smith 79-74-75=228

Top Individual Finishes
1. Tyrone Mordt (UTA) 70-72-68=210
2. Justin Elliott (USM) 70-69-72=211
3. Danny Dennis (USM) 76-66-73=215
4. Brett Jones (UL) 69-71-77=217
5. Jondavid Metzger (ULM) 73-70-75=218

Top Team Finishes
1. Louisville 288-288-297=873
2. UT-Arlington 290-295-289=874
3. Southern Miss 294-282-300=876
4. Louisiana-Monroe 295-284-304=883
T5. East Carolina 305-295-293=893
T5. South Alabama 299-299-295=893