SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- In addition to winning the Commonwealth Coast Conference's (CCC) first ever automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the Endicott golf team placed three golfers on the CCC All-Conference teams and saw head coach Tom Smith receive Coach of the Year honors. Representing the Gulls on the All-CCC First Team were sophomore Austin Teal (Loudonville, N.Y.) and senior Zach Golojuch (Saco, Maine), while senior Nick Erlichman (Shrewsbury, Mass.) received All-CCC Second Team honors.
Teal receives his honors after a stellar sophomore campaign in which he lead the team in average strokes, top 10 finishes, top five finishes and wins. On the season, Teal averaged 76.85 strokes on courses with a combined average par of 71.45. The sophomore notched two wins, five top five finishes and 11 top 10 finishes in the team's 12 competitions over 20 total rounds. His lone non-top 10 finish came in the first event of the year, the Bowdoin Invitational, in which he finished 11th. Teal took home medalist honors at the UNE Invitational and the Western New England Invitational, the latter being a round in which he shot a season-low 69.
Golojuch's honors come after an impressive senior season in which he notched seven top 10 finishes and two top five finishes. Golojuch was close behind Teal as he shot an average round of 78.50 on the season in 20 rounds completed. Golojuch saved his best two performances of the season for when it mattered most as he finished tied for third at the JWU Wildcat Spring Invitational and tied for second at the CCC Championship. His two lowest rounds of the season, a 72 and a 75, came on days one and two of the CCC Championship as he led his team to victory and with it, to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
Erlichman, who received Second Team honors, wrapped up an equally impressive senior year as he also received the 2013 Guy Tedesco Award at the NEIGA Championships in October. This award is given annually to the Outstanding New England College Golfer who displayed the qualities Guy Tedesco was noted for: unselfish leadership, outstanding talent, love of golf and willingness to promote positive aspects of golf to others. His Second Team honors come after a season in which he averaged 80.84 strokes per round over his 19 rounds played. The senior also collected three top 10 finishes and one top five finish, the latter which came in his team leading fourth place finish at the USM Invitational in early October. Erlichman showed an ability to close strong in two day invitationals down the stretch as he shaved nine and 11 strokes off his first day rounds in the last two invitationals of the year.
Head coach Tom Smith, in his third year at the helm, takes home the inaugural CCC Coach of the Year honors. Smith, who has led the Gulls to the CCC title in all three years as coach, will now lead the Gulls in the NCAA Division III Tournament on May 13th-16th at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C.
