Posted: Oct 11, 2015

Men's Golf Takes 11th at the ECAC Division III Championship

SOUTHWICK, Mass. – The Elms College men's golf team improved by 22 strokes on the final day of play at the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship, hosted at The Ranch Golf Club, Sunday afternoon.

The Blazers fired a 329 in round two, the seventh-best score of the day, to finish 11^th overall on the team leaderboard with a team score of 680 (351-329). Senior Dan Olive (Jefferson Township, N.J.) put together his 36-hole performance of his career, improving on an opening 79 with a 78 in the final round to post a total of 157 for a share of 21^st. Freshman Chris Soderberg (Northampton, Mass.) improved by nine strokes on day two, shooting an 82 to finish tied at 48^th with a 173 (91-82). Sophomores Mike Fleury (West Springfield, Mass.) and Brian Cowles (East Longmeadow, Mass.) were two strokes back to claim a share of 51^st. Fleury shot an 84 on Sunday to finish with a 175 (91-84), while Cowles recorded an 85 to pair with a 90 on day one.

"We had a great performance by Dan Olive this weekend," said Elms College Head Coach Craig Cowles. "The second day improvement by the team was due to being more comfortable on the course, and with their teammate because all four of them knew they need to post good scores due to Brian Benson's injury. The Ranch Golf Club was in spectacular condition for the ECAC Championship. Kudos to the Ranch staff, and I enjoyed being the host and tournament director for this great event."

The 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Golf Championship concluded Sunday, as the Middlebury Panthers overcame a five-shot deficit to claim their second title in three years.

After starting the day five strokes behind Trinity College, Middlebury totaled a team score of 295 in the second round to finish with a combined two-day score of 591. Trinity posted a team score of 302 in the second round to finish with a total of 593 for the tournament, as the Bantams ended the tournament two strokes behind the Panthers.

Endicott College (606) narrowly claimed third place ahead Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (608), while Western New England University rounded out the top five with a team score of 633 for the tournament.

Individually, the battle for top honors turned into a fight among freshmen, as Trinity's Will Rosenfield and Middlebury's Scott Guidotti entered the day separated by just two strokes at the top of the standings.

Guidotti shaved a stroke off his first-round score to card a 2-under-par 70 and finish the tournament at 141. Rosenfield was unable to replicate his first-round 69 though, turning in a round of 75 to close with a two-day total of 144.

The competition for third place proved to be a tight one as well, as Middlebury's Reid Buzby (70), Trinity's Jeff Durkin (73) and RPI's James Jackson (70) ended the tournament at 145, 146, and 147, respectively, to complete the top five.

An ace from Ian Wilson of SUNY Cobleskill also highlighted Sunday's second round. The junior, who was recently named the ECAC Co-Golfer of the Month for September, holed his tee shot on the par-3 17th hole at The Ranch. Wilson (81-76—157) ended the tournament as Cobleskill's top finisher.

The Blazers will be back on the course at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Championship at the Captain's Course in Brewster, Massachusetts from October 25-27.

First Team All-Tournament

Scott Guidotti (71-70—141) – Middlebury College

Will Rosenfield (69-75—144) – Trinity College

Reid Buzby (75-70—145) – Middlebury College

Jeff Durkin (73-73—146) – Trinity College

James Jackson (77-70—147) - RPI

Second Team All-Tournament

Drew Benshoff (74-74—148) – Endicott College

Aaron Schauger (75-75—150) – RPI

Taylor Kay-Green (76-74—150) – Trinity College

John Abbott (80-70—150) – Western New England University

Ben Palazzo (73-77—150) – Endicott College