The men's golf team didn't win the season ending Big Championships contested at the Warren Golf Course this past weekend, but their performance can nonetheless be considered victorious.

Notre Dame, seeded third, was given little chance of competing with top-ranked Virginia Tech and No. 2 St. John's, but thanks to a fine Sunday round of 296, the Irish overcame blustery conditions as well as the Red Storm, finishing 17 shots behind the eventual champion Virginia Tech.

"We're very proud of the way our guys responded," said Tom Hanton, an assistant with the team. "The conditions were tough but we got good efforts top to bottom and really played well."

Conditions were indeed brutal. Temperatures in the forties combined with swirling winds made for high scores and only served to augment the home course advantage already enjoyed by Notre Dame.

"The home course advantage was significant," Hanton said. "We're used to playing in those conditions."

Team captain Steve Ratay, who second place finish represented the best by an Irish golfer, agreed.

"I'm glad it was cold and windy," he said. "We're used to it. We've played in it, and living in South Bend, we've practiced in it. We thought maybe with the way we were playing we could give Virginia Tech a run, but they just played great."

Ratay finished four stroked behind individual winner Johnson Wagner of Virginia Tech but was not disappointed with his play in his final collegiate event.

"I definitely thrilled with the team's play as well as my own individual play," he said. "It was a good season."

Good may be understating it. Ratay's 2002 campaign was arguably the best in Notre Dame history and statistics only back that assertion.

While Ratay once again led the Irish, he had plenty of help.

Freshman Ryan Marshall emerged from relative anonymity to finish the sixth, the best result of his collegiate career en route to earning a place on the all conference team.

"Marshall was outstanding," Hanton said. "He showed us he could play."

Though not victorious, there is much the Irish can take away from their performance this past weekend. Trailing St. John's by two strokes heading into the final round, Notre Dame responded with a strong top to bottom effort to overtake the Red Strom by four.

• Pleasing the crowd
  
• Watson, Shay set new Notre Dame records
  
• Irish sweep Pirates, grab first place tie
  
• Relay competes with U.S. Olympic squad
  
• Gumpf to face alma mater
  
• Hoyas send Irish back to bubble again
  
• Irish fall just short at Big East Championships
  
• Bacchus loses after Graves goes down