MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Endicott men's golf team climbed three spots after their day one performance at the Duke Nelson Invitational to finish 10th among 25 New England programs at the par-72, 6,376-yard Ralph Myhre Golf Course.
Endicott carded a two-day team score of 631 (317-316), just two strokes behind the host Middlebury Panthers and three strokes behind Western New England, the only other CCC institution in the field. Williams (614) finished five strokes ahead of Babson to take the tournament team title. RPI and Salem State followed by a three-way tie by Rochester, Skidmore, and Trinity (Conn.) rounded out the top five.
Sophomore Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) shot in the 70s on both days to lead Endicott over the weekend as he finished in a tie for eighth place overall. Benshoff shot a 79 on day one before he pulled off an impressive one-over par round two to help the Gulls improve their team standing. Senior Austin Teal (Loudonville, N.Y.) after shooting an 80 on Saturday walked off the 18th-hole on Sunday three strokes better to finish in a tie for 22nd place individually.
Freshman Christopher Billings (Topsham, Maine), senior Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine), and sophomore Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.) carded in the low-80s in both rounds over the weekend and will look to rebound in the team's next outing.
INSIDE THE SCORECARD
- In 2014, Endicott placed 17th out of the field of 25 schools at the Duke Nelson Invitational after struggling on day one with a team score of 337 on the challenging Ralph Myhre Golf Course before improving dramatically on day two with a 316.
- Endicott's 2015 experience at the Duke Nelson proved to be a more consistent performance with team totals of 317 and 316.
WHAT'S NEXT
Starting on Saturday, September 26th, Endicott will compete in the two-day Blazer Invitational at the Elmcrest Country Club. Action beings at 10:00 a.m. on both rounds over the weekend.
