Golf Turns in Eighth Place Finish at GNAC Championship

BIDDEFORD, Maine – University of Southern Maine held off an impressive second-round surge from Johnson & Wales University to claim the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Golf Championship at the Biddeford-Saco Country Club on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies carded a 299 on day two with a 596 36-hole score to stave off the Wildcats, who shaved 16 strokes off the opening day effort with a 294 score and finished as the runner-up with a 604 overall card.

With the low score, the Huskies claim their first-ever conference championship and have earned the GNAC's automatic qualifier into the 2020 NCAA DIII National Championship, which will be played at The Champion and The Fazio in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on May 12th through May 15th.

Southern Maine senior Tristan Dundas (Abbotsford, B.C.) earned Medalist honors with a 145 (72-73) card, just one stroke ahead of JWU junior Hunter DiLorenzo (Boxborough, Mass.), who shot a 74 on Saturday and a 72 today. As the top finisher, Dundas earns GNAC Golfer of the Year accolades.

The GNAC's top five finishers automatically garner All-Conference accolades, as Dundas and DiLorenzo are joined by JWU freshman Nico Ciolino (Marlborough, Mass.), JWU senior Mac Patch (St. Simons Island, Ga.), and USM senior Greg Kalagias (Saco, Maine) on the 2019 All-GNAC squad.

As the low scoring first-year player, Ciolino garnered GNAC Rookie of the Year honors after shooting a 148 in the two-day title bout. Ciolino had an impressive second round and shaved six strokes off his opening day score with a tourney-low 71 card over the final 18 holes.

Tourney-host Saint Joseph's College and UMass.-Dartmouth finished in a tie for third with 633 team scores while Suffolk University was fifth (646, 333-313), Albertus Magnus College placed sixth (661, 335-326), Rhode Island College finished seventh (671, 339-332), and Emmanuel College posted a 776 (396-380) collective score to round out the eight-team field.

TEAM NOTES:

SOUTHERN MAINE (1st, 297-299-596):

All five USM players finished in the top eight individually, as Dundas shot a 145, Kalagias notched a 151 (79-72), senior Ryan Dee (Houlton, Maine) turned in a 152 (77-75), senior Parker Sanderson (Hermon, Maine) added a 153 (74-79), and senior Kyle Morin (Lewiston, Maine) posted a 153 (74-79)…Dundas posted par on 24 holes and registered five birdies in 36 holes overall…Dundas is the second Southern Maine player to garner GNAC Golfer of the Year honors – Josh Hogan claimed the honor in 2012 and was the first.

JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY (2nd, 310-294-604):

The Wildcats' day-two score of 294 is the lowest second-round output in the history of the GNAC Tournament…The previous mark was 295 was posted in 2014 by both Rhode Island College and JWU…Johnson & Wales sat in third place following Saturday's action but shaved 16 strokes off of the first day effort in an attempt to claim their third-consecutive conference crown… Ciolino is the third Johnson & Wales golfer to win Rookie of the Year accolades, as he joins teammate 2017 recipient Ryan Malloy (East Greenwich, R.I.) and 2007 winner Ryan Myers on the short list…DiLorenzo lost out on Medalist honors after posting a 72 on Sunday and tied with USM's Dundas for the tourney lead with 24 par scores…Senior Mac Patch (St. Simons Island, Ga.) notched six birdies, the second-highest total in the tournament.

SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (T3rd, 308-325-633):

Sitting in second place with a 310 after the first 18 holes, the Monks were unable to keep the momentum going on day two, as the hosts saw their score increase by 17 strokes to 325 and a 633 total overall…Freshman Trevor Flanagan (Monmouth, Maine) paced the Royal Blue and tied for ninth with a 154 (74-80) card, the second-lowest score by a rookie – behind Ciolino – in the 2019 tournament…Flanagan recorded 22 par scores, the third-highest total among the 39 participants…Freshman Sean McDonough (Concord, N.H.) was the Monks' top day-two scorer with a 79 and capped the event tied for 14th with a 159 card…Senior Tyler Johnson's (Windham, Maine) first-round eagle on the fourth hole was the lone two-under shot of the 2019 GNAC Championship.

UMASS.-DARTMOUTH (T3rd, 319-314-633):

The Corsairs cut five shots off their opening day card with a 314 on the second round, thanks in large part to freshman Alexander le Gassick (Mattapoisett, Mass.), who shot a 76 on day two, eight strokes better than his Saturday performance, and was the tournament leader with eight birdies, including six this afternoon…Sophomore Jack McDonald (New Bedford, Mass.) paced his team with a 154 (76-78) score while freshman Charlie Karagosian (Davis, Calif.) turned in a respectable 159 (78-81) card.

SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY (5th, 333-313-646):

The Rams turned in the third-lowest second-round card (313) and hold the distinction of subtracting the most strokes (20) on the second day in this year's GNAC Championship…Senior Andrew Harper (Moreau, N.Y.), who turned in an 88 card on Saturday, accounted for over half of the improvement with a 77 score this afternoon…Senior Owen Boggini (Tolland, Conn.) also cut back on his overall score with a 77 today after shooting an 84 yesterday…Senior Elias Sachs (Arlington, Mass.) was the Rams' top finisher and tied for 12th overall with a 157 (80-77) card.

ALBERTUS MAGNUS COLLEGE (6th, 335-326-661):

Junior Ryan Sember (Branford, Conn.) led the Falcons with a 157 (76-81) score and tied for 12th individually…Sophomore Liam Deane (Branford, Conn.) and junior Brandon Fowler (Lexington, S.C.) both cut six strokes off their opening day scores and finished with 160 (83-77) and 172 (89-83) cards, respectively.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE (7th, 339-332-671):

Senior Tyler Boisclair (West Warwick, R.I.) finished 11th overall with a two-day 155 (79-76) score…Freshman William Niles (Warwick, R.I.) shaved six ticks off his first day card with an 82 today and finished with a 170 overall.

EMMANUEL COLLEGE (8th, 396-380-776):

The Saints deducted 16 strokes from Saturday's score with a 380 on Sunday…Senior Jack Scavone (Auburn, Mass.), who shot a 97 in the first round, posted an 85 today for a 12-stroke improvement, the most by any player in the tournament.

*Release courtesy of Saint Joseph's College Athletic Communications