Williamstown, Mass. – The Trinity College golf team has
captured the first New England Small College Athletic Conference
(NESCAC) Golf Championship title in the history of the program, as
play concluded on the second day of competition this afternoon at
Taconic Golf Club. The Bantams earn the conference's
automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament,
which will be held May 11-14 in Hershey, Pa. Trinity carded a
team total of 305 on the final day to support their stellar first
round score of 293 for a 598 two-day score.
The rain seemed to hold off just in time for the players to finish
their rounds, as the Bantams proved how good of a team they were in
the final round. With the difficult Taconic Golf Club as host, the
6808 yard layout proved to be a true test for all players. After a
scintillating 293 yesterday, the Bantams held a 15 shot lead over
Williams College heading into the final round, and they
relinquished none of it, as they strolled to a 16 shot victory over
Middlebury College after the conclusion of play.
Shooting a tournament low score of 68 yesterday, Trinity sophomore
standout Alex Bermingham (Bedford,
N.Y.) fired a steady 77 today for a 145 total, giving
him medalist honors. Senior Josh Grossman (Great Neck,
N.Y.) anchored the Bantams, following his 73 with a great
round of 74, and classmate Reid Longley (Atlanta,
Ga.) shot a 77 after his 72 yesterday. Junior Jay
Driscoll (Milton, Mass.) also shot a 77 today, a nice
comeback from his 81 the day before. Their 305 was good enough to
comfortably finish their weekend atop the leaderboard.
The defending champion Middlebury Panthers came out strong today
and shot the low team score in the final round, with a 304. The
Panthers posted strong scores from Brian Cady, who shot 70, and Jim
Levins, who shot a 71. Their identical 146 totals for the weekend
gave them second place individual honors. The 614 team total put
Middlebury in second place.
Hamilton College concluded the final round exactly where they
started, in third place. They improved on their day one score by
one stroke, shooting a 308 today for a 617 total. The second round
saw some good round from the Hamilton players, as Phil Preiss shot
an impressive 73, as Hans Schulte and Brad Roche supported with
77's.
Beginning the day in second place, the Williams Ephs had hoped to
make a sizable comeback from 15 strokes back, but day two saw them
struggle to a 312 team total. Jack Killea produced the best score
for the Ephs today, as he shot a 76. Jake Wagner and Bob Camp
supported with 79s, but it proved to be not enough for the Ephs, as
they concluded the weekend in fourth place with a tournament total
of 620.
“Trinity College was the class of the field, posting a
598 team total for the two days,” said Williams Coach Rick
Pohle, “the first day really set the tone for the event and
the rest of the field was basically playing for second
place.”
After yesterday's rounds, Trinity found itself in the lead
by 15 strokes with a exceptional 293 team total. The
remaining three teams were bunched together with Williams College
sitting in second place at a 308 team total, Hamilton at 309, and
Middlebury at 310. Trinity stormed the coursed yesterday, led
by Bermingham, who shined to a 3-under par 68 that featured five
birdies. Longley also posted a strong round with a 72, and got
great support from Grossman, who shot 73. The Bantams rounded out
their score with an 80 from senior Dave Anderson
(Wellesley, Mass.).
final results
complete Saturday results
tournament information
