ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Fricker fired a five-under round of 67 in the first of two rounds Monday, helping secure his first collegiate championship title as he claimed top honors at the Gary Freeman B-CU Spring Invitational. The event was hosted by Bethune-Cookman at the Halifax Plantation Golf Club in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Fricker - a freshman from Ivybridge, England - shot the lowest round of any individual on the weekend with his second round score of 67. All this while round two was suspended Sunday evening due to darkness, and it was concluded Monday morning. He was able to register five birdies in the second round; all five on the front nine.

"It feels good to get the win simply because it is my first collegiate championship," said Fricker. "Obviously, the cold weather played into my first round, but after I warmed up a bit, I was able to shoot a tad better."

Ryan Fricker finished the tournament with a one-over-par score of 217 across three rounds of golf. He finished two strokes ahead of runner-up Alex Gates from FAU who carded a three-over-par 219.

As a team, Bethune-Cookman finished its spring debut with a second place showing after recording a score of 903.

Alex Clapp - a senior from Somerset, England - ended the tournament among the field's top 20, coming away with a tie for 12th after carding a three-round score of 13-over-par 229. Clapp improved his score in each round, registering a final round one-over-par 73. Junior Matthew McKnight (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) was tied for 14th after turning in a one-over-par 73 in his final round.

Rounding out the Wildcats in the top 20 was junior Emanuel Petrich (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) as he was 16-over at 232.

Florida Atlantic took top honors for the men's team title as the Owls finished with a total of 894. They were nine strokes ahead of B-CU. Stetson (906), Rollins (907) and defending champion Laval (949) rounded out the top five, respectively.

First round leader Davis Hall (Rollins) finished in third place for the individuals as he fired a five-over 221, followed by teammate Scott Lamb who finished with a six-over-par 222. Stetson's Dustin Dingus and FAU's Richard Donegan each turned in score cards of eight-over-par 224 to round out the top five individual performers.

Play for Monday's conclusion of the second round, as well as the entire final round, was pushed back more than an hour due to severe frost covering most of the course in the early morning hours. Play did not resume until 9 a.m.

Named after legendary golf coach Dr. Gary Freeman, the annual event was started by current head coach Loritz "Scooter" Clark to pay tribute to a man that was the face of the B-CU golf program for many years before retiring and eventually passing away just under two years ago.

The Cats get back on links again when they travel to compete in the Butler Invitational taking place in Jacksonville, Fla. The event is scheduled for three days from March 10-12.

For news and results on the B-CU men's golf team, log on to BCUathletics.com and follow the team (@BCUgolf) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with the hashtag, #bcugolf. Make sure to "Like Us" on Facebook at Bethune-Cookman Athletics.

-www.BCUathletics.com-