GORHAM, Maine- For the third straight competition, the Endicott men's golf team took home first place honors, this time at the USM Fall Classic held at the par 71 Gorham Country Club. Endicott went wire to wire as they led the nine team field after day one by three strokes and finished with the same margin of victory after day two. The Gulls finished the two day event with a score of 598, besting host Southern Maine by three stokes while junior Austin Teal (Loudonville, N.Y.) earned medalist honors in dramatic fashion.
Teal's two day total of +2, 144 (72, 72) eeked out Castleton's Zach Temple's +3, 145 (73, 72) to win medalist honors for the second time in the last three events. While he sat in first after day one by a stroke, Teal found himself trailing Temple by two strokes heading to the 18th. The junior then proceeded to eagle the 18th, giving him a +1, 72 for the second straight day and earning medalist honors by one stroke.
Joining Teal in the top 10 were Dan Negus (Pembroke, Mass.) and Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) as both golfers tied for seventh with identical rounds of +8, 150 (76, 74). For both golfers, it was their second top 10 finish of the season. Benshoff finished tied for 6th at the CCC Fall Qualifier while Negus finished 8th at the same tournament.
Freshman Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.) continued his steady play, finishing tied for 17th with a two day total of +14, 156 (75-81). Fellow first year player Hunter Donovan (Loudonville, N.Y.) rounded out the tournament with a two day total of 165 (86, 79).
Endicott will look to continue its current streak next weekend at the two day ECAC Division III Championships at the Crumpin Fox Club in Bernardston, Mass. The Gulls finished 5th out of 14 teams at this event in 2013, with Teal leading the way as he finished tied for sixth.
