PORTSMOUTH, R.I. --  Buried deep in the tournament field after shooting a 10-over 81 on the first day of the Roger Williams University Spring Invitational on Sunday, junior Nick DiNino (Glastonbury) dug himself out and roared back with the lowest score of the second day Monday and finished in a tie for seventh overall in helping the Eastern Connecticut State University men's golf team to fourth place in the eight-team field at the par 71, 6675 Aquidneck Club.

DiNino, who shot 1-over 72 on Monday, bogeyed the first and second holes Monday before parring the next seven and birdieing  three holes and parring four on the back nine en route to outpacing the other 44 golfers on the second day. DiNino shot two strokes better on the second day than medalist Will Pierce, who shot even par over 36 holes to finish with a tournament-best 142.

Eastern entered the second day in fifth place and moved up a spot in the final standings, shooting 30-over as a team on both days for a total 628 strokes, two strokes behind third-place host Roger Williams and one ahead of Suffolk University. Endicott, last fall's NEIGA champion, outdistanced the field with an aggregate team total of 25-over par 593.

First-year player Drew Johnson (Gloucester, MA), the Eastern leader after 18 holes, placed 15^th overall (15-over 157), with senior co-captain Matthew Orefice (Niantic) tied for 16^th (16-over 158). Senior Cal Angelo (Southington), limited to one match in the fall due to injury, was Eastern's fourth finisher (24-over 166), with senior Ryan Silva (Windham, ME) checking in at 25-over 167.
On Monday, Orefice and Angelo each bettered their scores by two strokes over Sunday play

Eastern, which competes four times  in a span of a week, is back in action Thursday against Western Connecticut State University and Western New England University at Richter Park Golf Course in Danbury at noon, then participates in the Western New England University Invitational Saturday at the Country Club of Wilbraham (MA) at 1 p.m. The Warriors close out the spring season April 21, hosting Elms College, Roger Williams and Western New England in the Eastern Spring Invitational at Mohegan Sun Golf Club in Baltic at 11 a.m.

Eastern's projected players at Western Connecticut are first-year senior transfer Shayne Bigelow (Brooklyn), sophomores Ethan McDaniel (Orange), Eliyaan Shakeel (West Hartford) and Ryan O'Donnell (Southington), and first-year player JJ Hay (Columbia). McDaniel was last year's Little East Conference Rookie and Player-of-the-Year after earning medalist honors at the LEC Championships last October at Keene, NH.