HINGHAM, Mass.- With a chance to qualify for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on the line, the Endicott golf team shot a combined 316 to finish second, and earn a spot in the spring title tournament.
The top four teams in the seven team fall qualifier earn bids to the spring championships, meaning that Endicott, Western New England, University of New England and Nichols will vie for the title come April. Western New England shot the lowest combined round at the qualifier with a team total of 308, followed by Endicott and Nichols with 319 and then UNE with a 325.
Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) and Athan Goulos (Peabody, Mass.) led the Gulls with identical rounds of six-over 78 as the duo tied for sixth place.
Not making the cut were Wentworth (326), Roger Williams (333) and Eastern Nazarene (432).
TOP QUOTE
"I am very happy with our performance today and with our entire fall thus far," said Endicott men's golf head coach Tom Smith. "We are accomplishing our goal of earning a spot to compete for a championship and were able to do it with a great young team. We are fortunate that we will play for a championship at a course we are very familiar with in Franconia Golf Club. We have played their many times and we know what it takes to win there."
INSIDE THE CARD
- With the spring CCC Championship berth locked up, the Gulls will be searching for their fifth CCC title in six seasons. The Gulls fell just short in 2015-16 to Western New England as the Golden Bears earned the CCC championship.
- The top two golfers for Endicott, Benshoff and Goulos, have both finished in the top 10 in three tournaments this fall.
- Christopher Billings (Portland, Maine) also earned a top-10 finish for the Gulls shooting a seven-over 79.
- Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.) finished tied for 16th with a score of 81, while Dan Negus (Pembroke, Mass.) was 18th with a score of 83.
WHAT'S NEXT
With the CCC Championship berth locked up, the Gulls will travel to Brewster, Mass. on Saturday October 22nd to compete in the three-day NEIGA Championship at the Captains Golf Club. This will be the final event for the Gulls this fall.