The men’s golf team battled its way to 13th place in the NCAA Virginia Tech Regional in Blacksburg, Virginia on Saturday.

The Bulldogs, who lived up to their No. 13 seeding in the tournament, finished with a plus-59 923 team score after three rounds of play. No. 16 Duke, which won the regional, finished with a plus-one 865.

The Blue Devils managed a late charge on the last day of play that carried them past No. 4 Georgia Tech by four strokes. Georgia Tech had led the pack for the first two days, and took a three-stroke lead into the final day of play. But Duke’s eight-under 280 in the closing round carried it to victory.

Although the Elis finished only 13th, the performance was remarkable for the program. Yale had not qualified for the NCAA Regionals since 2003, when it finished 26th. This year, led by captain Tom McCarthy ’11, the team took the Ivy League championship in order to qualify for Regionals.

McCarthy paced the Elis as they stayed solid on the leaderboard throughout the tournament: Yale was in 13th place after the first round, tied for 12th after the second round and 13th in the final standings. The 2010 Ivy League Player of the Year finished plus-five in the tournament, and 17th overall.

Captain-elect Jeffrey Hatten ’12 overcame a difficult first round to finish 63rd overall, and fellow first-team All-Ivy honoree Bradley Kushner ’13 earned a 57th-place finish.