Riding a 1-over final round, Northwestern made a late ascent up the leaderboard to secure a third place finish at the Duck Invitational Tuesday.

Sophomore Daniel Svärd led the ’Cats in his best performance since his Big Ten Championship medalist finish last season, tying for third place individually with a 2-under 211.

After finishing in the middle of the pack at the Wake Forest Invitational earlier in the month, NU began its stay in Eugene, Oregon, with a 5-over 289, good enough for sixth place.

Junior Cameron Adam paced the squad with an even-par 71 in the first round as Svärd and graduate student James Imai chipped in with a 1-over 72 each.

Making his first tournament appearance since late October, sophomore Ethan Tseng carried the ’Cats on the second day, tallying a 2-under 69 with five birdies.

Despite improving upon its first-round stroke total by two, NU fell to seventh place. Still, coach David Inglis’ squad stood just four shots off first place in a highly contested 15-team field.

Entering the final round within reach of the lead, the ’Cats delivered. 

Svärd achieved a round-best 4-under 67, collecting seven birdies — three of which came during his last four holes. Sophomore Akshay Anand also logged his best round of the tournament, hitting a 1-under 70.

The sophomore duo’s performance propelled NU up four places, just two strokes ahead of fourth-place Utah.

With the top-three result, the ’Cats notched their best finish this spring with two more regular season tournaments left to go.

NU will be back on the road next month to compete at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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