A tournament that started amidst dark clouds and rain showers ended on a shining moment for the Villanova men’s golf team.

For the first time in almost eight years, the Wildcats captured a tournament title. Their score of 303 (+15) was the team’s best for the spring and the second lowest of the season.

The 26 participating teams who traveled to the small town of Issue, Md. for the two-day George Washington Invitational were greeted with a less than warm reception. It was 40 degrees and raining with winds reaching speeds as high as 25mph. Despite the terrible weather conditions, which actually caused the tournament to be shortened by a day, Villanova still managed to play strong.

Leading the way for the Wildcats were juniors Jon Hewett and Colin Mahon. Both teammates shot a 1-over par 73.

Hewett, who recorded a score of even par on 13 holes, defeated Mahon and two others in a playoff to earn medalist honors among the 130 golfers in the field. It was the first time in two years that a Villanova player has placed first.

Meanwhile, Mahon tied for second after registering three birdies on the day, including two on par-5 holes. In addition to Hewett and Mahon, sophomores Brock Bergman and Brian Feeney also posted scores in the 70s.

“It took a great team effort to win the tournament,” Hewett told Villanova.com.

In their fourth round of spring competition, the Wildcats ended a nearly eight-year drought. Villanova had not won a tournament since the Lehigh Quad in October 1997.

“It has been a long time in the waiting,” Bergman said, “but we all felt that all of the hard work we put in during the winter was going to pay off at some point.” The sophomore, who is the only player on the team who has competed in all 16 rounds this season, placed 31st.

The ‘Cats hope to keep the winning momentum going this weekend at the Princeton Invitational.