After finishing the fall season in fifth place at the Cabo Intercollegiate Tournament in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Tennessee men’s golf team started off their spring campaign on the right foot, capturing a fourth-place finish at the San Diego Intercollegiate Classic in Chula Vista, Calif.
    
The tournament, which took place Feb. 13 and 14, featured outstanding play from senior captain Garrick Porteous and junior Jay Vandeventer, leading UT to a plus-23 finish only behind Washington, Southern California and UCLA.
    
“We needed to get the spring started off on the right foot and I think we accomplished that,” UT coach Jim Kelson said. “We got a few things to improve on, but obviously Garrick played very well.”
    
Porteous, who secured his best collegiate finish to date, ended the tournament at one-under-par, capturing a second-place finish only behind San Diego’s Alex Ching.
   
 “He’s very consistent and he hits the ball very straight,” Kelson said about his senior captain. “It’s only a matter of time before he can go out and win one of those tournaments.”
    
On the back of contributing to UT’s fourth-place finish, Porteous ended the day just one stroke off the lead, something he didn’t realize until the last three holes.
    
“It was a shotgun start so I didn’t really know where I stood, but I knew I was kind of close to the lead,” said Porteous, who closed the tournament with a 69 after producing back-to-back 73s.
    
Tennessee’s fourth-place charge was the team’s best finish since September, when they finished second at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Tournament in Georgia.
    
“There were some good teams out there so hopefully we can gain some confidence,” Kelson said. “Confidence is exactly what UT is taking from this solid finish.”
    
Entering their next tournament at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Florida, the Vols will try to continue their winning ways on the back of great golf from their most tenured player.
    
“We’re excited about playing in that tournament,” Kelson said. “Fortunately, we’ve had some good showings there. We’re just looking to continue with positive momentum.”
    
The Florida Invitational will take place from Feb. 26-28, where Porteous will look continue his dominate play and help UT string together impressive finishes to set off spring play.