After the first round of Sunday's Toski Invitational, held at Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst, the Harvard men's golf team was in sixth place in a field of 23 teams. More importantly, they were one place ahead of Yale.

The Crimson began the two-day event in top form. The five members of the team combined for a total score of 303 over the first 18 holes. Sophomore Matt Dost had the low round with a two-over-par 74, while freshman Andrew Malcolm and Sophomore Rob Erickson both followed with scores of 76. Captain Doug MacBean shot a 79 and sophomore Kaj Vazales turned in a 77.

The 303 score after day one put Harvard one place ahead of golf powerhouse Yale, and it also outshot a host of competitive east coast teams.

"It was quite an accomplishment," said MacBean, who has been playing golf on the Philadelphia circuits since he was 12.

Yesterday, Harvard hit the links again for the second round of 18, and it came up with another respectable showing. The mounting pressure and the tougher final-day pin placement resulted in higher scores; the Crimson netted a 319 team total.

Dost and Vazales each gritted out a 79, MacBean came through with an 80, Erickson scrambled for an 81 and Malcolm turned in a solid 82. The team relaxed in the 19th hole content with one of its best team rounds of the season. Sunday's 303 and yesterday's 319 combined for a grand total of 622.

"Our score this year would have been good enough to win last year's event," MacBean said. "New England golf is just improving all the time."

The team score was good enough to place Harvard in ninth. Unfortunately, the Yalies rallied in the later round and ended up in second place.

Central Connecticut won the event by a landslide. It was a whopping seven under par after the first day, due in part to scores of 65 and 67 by their third and fourth men respectively.

Harvard's 10th place finish last week at Dartmouth and this ninth at Hickory Ridge shows consistency.

"The team is quite strong," MacBean said. "Four of our guys are freshman and sophomores, so we have a lot to look forward to."

The Crimson are prepared for next Sunday's 54-hole event at Army, and in another week the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association will hold its championship at the New Seabury Country Club on Cape Cod.