Fresh off of a seventh-place finish against a strong field at the Naples Invitational, the Wisconsin men's golf team heads back to Florida this weekend to participate in the Orange County Invite in Orlando.

The Invite, which is hosted by Xavier University, boasts a strong field that includes several teams from Wisconsin's district.

"This is a big meet for us," junior Garrett Jones said. "There are a lot of teams in our district there that we need to beat."

Jones shook off a slow start to finish 21st overall at Naples, aided by a 5-under 67 in the second round. He started off the tournament with a 78 in the first round, which placed him behind much of the field to begin.

Sophomore Jeff Kaiser fired a 67 in the final round to finish a team-best 17th. He also hurt himself early in the tournament, joining Jones with a 78 in the first round.

"It's always nice to play well," Kaiser said. "It definitely helps [to] build confidence heading into this weekend."

Head coach Jim Schuman was encouraged by the Badgers' strong performance in the last two rounds at Naples.

"We had a poor first round, but a lot of that was rust," Schuman said. "I saw a lot of positive things in those last two rounds."

The Badgers are using a very young team this year, starting freshmen Pat Duffy, Tyler Obermueller, and Nick Engen alongside veterans Jones and Kaiser. Schuman knew the team would have to rely on Jones and Kaiser to carry the team early in the season.

"We are very young right now," Schuman said. "So we pretty much go as they [Jones and Kaiser] go."

So far, the young golfers have managed to post impressive rounds.

"It's really encouraging to see the young guys put up decent scores," Kaiser said. "For us to play well in the second and third rounds, it's definitely something we can build on."

Wisconsin also scored a crucial win over Ohio State in Naples, beating their Big Ten and Midwest District rival by 22 shots.

"Getting a win over Ohio State was big," Jones said. "We needed that."

This weekend, Midwest district schools Xavier, Ball State, Indiana, and Ohio will all be in Orlando for the tournament. Jones said in order for the Badgers to have success, the team just needs to believe in itself.

"We have to understand that we are a strong team," he said. "We have to go there expecting to beat teams."

Jones also said that he feels he must lead the way, along with Kaiser, for the younger and more inexperienced members of the team.

"As captains, me and Jeff know our roles are to keep the team focused and ready for our next meet," he said. "We have to prepare them for what's next on the schedule."

The Orange County Invite is the second leg in a daunting stretch of three tournaments that feature extremely strong fields. Schuman knew this before the season started and is excited to see how his team fares.

"Our first three tournaments of the spring are all against very strong fields," Schuman said. "It's a good test for us and we just have to continue what we're doing."

The team knows this weekend should be a good measuring stick to see how the Badgers stack up against some of the top schools in the country, and that the big key to success will be getting off to a stronger start than their last event.

"The sky's the limit for us," Jones said. "I know we can compete with any team we face."