SPRINGFIELD, MASS.- Despite being led by senior Austin Teal's (Loudonville, N.Y.) medalist showing at the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship, the Endicott Gulls fell three strokes shy of the title to finish as runner-up for the second season in a row.
The host and eventual champion Western New England posted a monstrous surge on the second day of the event to pull ahead of the Gulls and claim their second consecutive title. The Golden Bears shot a two-day total 604 to edge the Gulls' 607. Nichols and Roger Williams rounded out the championship field with scores of 620 and 644, respectively.
DAY ONE
At the conclusion of the opening round on Friday, Endicott sat atop the leader board by nine strokes with a score of 300. The Gulls were led from start to finish by Teal, who posted an opening round 73. Teammates Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) and Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine) both shot rounds of 75 to tie for third, while Ben Palazzo's (Farmington, Conn.) round of 77 tied him for fifth to close out the Gulls' scores.
Western New England posted a combined round of 309 on the first day as the hosts were led by John Abbott (Higganum, Conn.) and Matthew Fontaine (East Longmeadow, Mass.) as the duo tied Palazzo for fifth with rounds of 77. Nichols was a close third with an opening round 310 as Colin Whitney (Longmeadow, Mass.) fired a 74 to finish second behind only Teal in the 20 man field. Roger Williams closed day one with a round of 320 as senior Matt Occhi (Portsmouth, R.I.) posted a score of 78 to tie for 10th on the day.
DAY TWO
The final day of the championship saw the Golden Bears of Western New England stage an impressive comeback as they shot a closing round of 295, 14 strokes better than Friday's score of 309. All four golfers that would score for the Golden Bears finished in the top five for the tournament.
Endicott's Austin Teal posted a second round score of 74 to finish the event with a +5, 147 (73-74) and with medalist honors. Teal edged out teammate Drew Benshoff and Western New England's Matthew Fontaine who each posted a two-day total of +8, three strokes off the winning pace. Junior Dan Negus (Pembroke, Mass.) shot a second day 78 to finish third for the Gulls on day two, while Palazzo rounded out the scoring with an 80.
With the runner-up finish, the Gulls see their 2015-16 campaign come to a close. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
