Endicott Golf All-Confernce History
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- For the first time in program history, the Endicott men's golf team has claimed two major conference awards and placed four total players on the All-Conference teams as was announced by the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) on Thursday. Led by junior Austin Teal's (Loudonville, N.Y.) Golfer of the Year and head coach Tom Smith's Coach of the Year awards, the Gulls also saw Teal and Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine) earn All-CCC First Team honors while freshmen Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) and Dan Negus (Pembroke, Mass.) earned Second Team honors. The Gulls came up just short in their quest to claim their fourth straight CCC title as they fell to Western New England by one stroke in the CCC Championship.
For Teal, he continued to build on his already successful career as he claimed his second consecutive All-CCC First Team nod while being named CCC Golfer of the Year for the first time. For the 2014-15 season, Teal averaged a career-best average round of 76.14, while claiming medalist honors in four events; the CCC Championship Qualifier in the fall, the USM Invitational, the NEIGA DIII Championship and at the CCC Championship in the spring. Teal also finished with seven total top five finishes, nine top 10 and ten top 15 finishes in his 13 events played on the year over 22 rounds.
In his fourth season at the helm, head coach Tom Smith led the team to three first place finishes and eight top 10 finishes in 13 events on the year as he was named CCC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Under his guidance, the team has won three CCC titles in the past four years and the Gulls have placed seven players on All-CCC teams in the past two years. This is Smith's second consecutive Coach of the Year honor.
Viola's All-CCC First Team honor is the first of his career and follows a season in which he posted a career best five top-10 finishes. A first place finish at the UNE Invitational led his five top 10 finishes which also included a second place showing at the Bowdoin Invitational and a fourth place finish at the CCC Qualifier. Viola also finished 10th at the Western New England Invitational and 9th at the CCC Championship as he shot an average round of 80.2 in his 12 total events over 20 rounds.
For Benshoff and Negus, the two received All-CCC honors for the first time in their young careers. In his first season of collegiate competition, Benshoff became the first Endicott freshman to earn All-CCC honors following a season in which he finished with an 81.01 stroke average over 21 rounds in 12 events. With his highest finish being his sixth place showing at the CCC Qualifier, the Concord, Mass. native also finished seventh at the USM Invitational, 12th at the CCC Championship and 15th at the Bowdoin Invitational.
Negus, a sophomore, claimed four top-10 finishes on the season as sixth place finishes at both the Western New England Invitational and CCC Championship led the way. A seventh place showing at the USM Invitational and an eighth at the CCC Qualifier helped solidify his All-CCC Second Team distinction as he finished with a stroke average of 81.71 over his 21 rounds played in 12 events.
