Trinity College Captures the 2010 NESCAC Championship
Williamstown, MA – Trinity College captured its first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Golf Championship in school history, carding a team total of 305 on the final day to support their stellar first round score of 293 for a 598 two-day score. With the victory, the Bantams earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and have punched their ticket to Pennsylvania for the Division III Golf Championship tournament, which will be held on May 11-14 in Hershey, PA.
The rain seemed to hold off just in time for the players to finish their rounds, as the Bantams proved how good of a team they were in the final round. With the difficult Taconic Golf Club as host, the 6808 yard layout proved to be a true test for all players. After a scintillating 293 yesterday, the Bantams held a 15 shot lead over Williams College heading into the final round, and they relinquished none of it, as they strolled to a 16 shot victory over Middlebury College after the conclusion of play.
Shooting a tournament low score of 68 yesterday, Trinity sophomore standout Alex Bermingham fired a steady 77 today for a 145 total, giving him medalist honors. Josh Grossman anchored the Bantams, following his 73 with a great round of 74, and classmate Reid Longley shot a 77 after his 72 yesterday. Jay Driscoll also shot a 77 today, a nice comeback from his 81 the day before. Their 305 was good enough to comfortably finish their weekend atop the leaderboard.
The defending champion Middlebury Panthers came out strong today and shot the low team score in the final round, with a 304. The Panthers posted strong scores from Brian Cady, who shot 70, and Jim Levins, who shot a 71. Their identical 146 totals for the weekend gave them second place individual honors. The 614 team total put Middlebury in second place.
Hamilton College concluded the final round exactly where they started, in third place. They improved on their day one score by one stroke, shooting a 308 today for a 617 total. The second round saw some good round from the Hamilton players, as Phil Preiss shot an impressive 73, as Hans Schulte and Brad Roche supported with 77’s.
Beginning the day in second place, the Williams Ephs had hoped to make a sizable comeback from 15 strokes back, but day two saw them struggle to a 312 team total. Jack Killea produced the best score for the Ephs today, as he shot a 76. Jake Wagner and Bob Camp supported with 79s, but it proved to be not enough for the Ephs, as they concluded the weekend in fourth place with a tournament total of 620.
“Trinity College was the class of the field, posting a 598 team total for the two days,” said Williams Coach Rick Pohle, “the first day really set the tone for the event and the rest of the field was basically playing for second place.”
Trinity College will represent the NESCAC conference in two weeks (May 11-14) at the NCAA Division III National Golf Championship in Hershey, PA.
Williamstown, MA – After the completion of the first round of the Men’s NESCAC Championship Golf Tournament, Trinity College finds themselves in the lead by 15 strokes with an exceptional 293 team total. The remaining three teams are bunched together with Williams College sitting in second place at a 308 team total, Hamilton at 309, and Middlebury at 310.
The tournament is being held on the newly renovated Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, MA, where the players embarked on the 6808-yard par 71 layout in search of the automatic national championship bid that goes to the victorious team. The sun was out and playing conditions were close to perfect as the newly renovated and challenging Taconic Golf Club provided the great venue for some great golf.
The Williams Spring Opener was held at Taconic this past weekend with all four teams competing this weekend competing last weekend as well. The tournament served as a preview to this week’s NESCAC Championship.
Trinity College stormed the coursed today, as they posted an impressive team score of 293 to grab the top of the leaderboard. The Bantams were led by sophomore standout Alex Bermingham, who shined to a 3-under par 68 that featured five birdies. Reid Longley also posted a strong round with a 72, and got great support from Josh Grossman, who shot 73. The Bantams rounded out their score with an 80 from Dave Anderson. Their 15-stroke lead should serve them well heading into the final round tomorrow.
Williams College, who won last week’s event, which was also held at Taconic, concluded the day with four rounds in the 70’s, with consistent play from their top four players. Jake Wagner led the way for the Ephs with a solid 75, followed closesly behind by freshman Jack Ervasti, who shot a 76. Jack Killea added a 78, as Bob Camp, last week’s medalist, shot a 79 today.
Hamilton College and the defending champions, Middlebury College, are lurking closely behind Williams, as their 309 and 310 totals, respectively, still keep them in the picture. Hamilton College posted two solid rounds today, as Hans Schulte shot a 75, and Scott Blosser, added a 77. Middlebury College also saw a pair of solid rounds from their top two players, as Jim Levins posted a fine 75, and Brian Cady shot a solid 76.
“Today, Trinity was the team we all thought and knew they were capable of being,” said Coach Pohle, “The rest of the field was closely bunched all will be chasing the leaders tomorrow, even though the lead is fairly substantial at this point. This tournament has displayed some exceptional results over the last three years and I think we'll see some very good golf for the second round - I do not anticipate any team throwing in the towel just yet.”
The four teams will meet up and battle once again tomorrow, with the first tee time going off at 11 AM, weather permitting. The order of play for the teams will go by score, with the fifth score teeing off first, as the 2010 NESCAC Champion will be crowned after concluding play.
Third Year in a Row Same Four Teams Meet for Title
HADLEY, Mass. – Rick Pohle’s
Williams College men’s golf team will look to add its seventh
conference title in the past 10 years and 11th overall when the
Ephs serve as hosts for the 2010 NESCAC Golf Championship this
weekend at the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass. The Ephs
will be joined by plenty of familiar faces on the links for the
two-day, 36-hole event, as it will be the third year in a row that
Williams will play alongside Hamilton, Trinity, and defending champ
Middlebury, all of which were among the top four finishers at the
NESCAC Fall Qualifier in October. Starting tee times for both
Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25, have been set for 11:00
a.m.
“We are proud to be host of this year's NESCAC Championship
and to have the opportunity to showcase our "new" facility,”
said Rick Pohle. “Pretty much all renovations that we have
been working on for the last two years have been completed and the
golf course has come through the winter in very good shape. Last
weekend's Spring NESCAC Challenge was a preview for the teams
competing in this event and the reviews of the course were
great.”
Williams appeared to be well on its way to a second-straight
NESCAC title last April at Ralph Myhre Golf Course after the Ephs
carded a score of 306 on day one for a two-stroke lead. That all
changed on Sunday, as Williams had a rough second round and
finished fourth overall, 18 strokes behind eventual champion
Middlebury. This season, the Ephs didn’t have the true home
course advantage at the Fall Qualifier due to issues with the
greens at Taconic, and the event had to be moved down the road to
the Waubeeka Golf Links. Williams overcame both the venue change
and also wet weather and course conditions with two consistent
rounds for a combined score of 595, two strokes ahead of
Hamilton.
Leading the Ephs to their first victory at the Fall Qualifier was
the tandem of juniors Jacob Wagner (Wilmette, Ill.) and Robert Camp
(Raleigh, N.C.). Wagner and Camp posted identical scores of 148
(+6) to finish in a four-way tie for third, as Wagner improved on
his day one score of 75 by two strokes while Camp recorded
carbon-copy rounds of 74. The Ephs head into the championship with
a bit of momentum after finishing third at the Palamountain
Invitational hosted by Skidmore two weeks ago and first at the
six-team Williams Spring Opener at Taconic this past weekend. Camp
came away with individual honors at the Open with a two-over
performance of 144 to lead the field.
Looking to secure its third conference crown in the past four seasons and fourth overall title will be Middlebury. The Panthers’ 2009 championship victory was almost identical to their 2006 title run, as they once again overcame a lackluster day one performance with a strong day two showing to win the NESCAC trophy via tie-breaker over Trinity. Helping Middlebury shave 13 strokes off its opening round score last April were juniors Brian Cady (Rye, N.Y.) and Jim Levins (Rutland, Vt.). Cady had the best round of any golfer at Ralph Myhre on Sunday with an even performance of 71, while Levins was second to his teammate on the day with a two-over 73. During October’s Fall Qualifier, the Panthers managed two solid rounds and came away in fourth place with a score of 608. Middlebury freshman Andrew Emerson (Pelham, N.Y.) claimed NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors following the event as he led his squad with a score of 148 (+6, T-3rd). Levins was just one stroke behind his first year teammate in a three-way tie for seventh. This spring, the Panthers finished right behind the Ephs at the weather-shortened Palamountain Invitational on April 11 and were fourth at the Williams Spring Open a week later, with Levins (156, +14) and Emerson (159, +17) pacing their team at Taconic.
In the hunt for its first NESCAC title will be Trinity. The Bantams have finished as the runner-up at two of the past three conference championships - both times falling via tie-breaker to the Panthers. Last April, Trinity recorded a two-day total of 613 but was relegated to second when Middlebury’s fifth golfer had a lower second round score than Trinity’s. The Bantams performed well at this year’s Fall Qualifier, moving from fifth place after day one up to third with the best team performance on Sunday at 294, as sophomore Alex Bermingham (Bedford, N.Y.) carded the lowest round of the tournament with a 67 (-4) and finished second overall at 147. Bermingham was also impressive this past weekend at the Williams Spring Opener with a second place finish (148, +4) to help the Bantams earn second overall, 18 strokes behind Williams. It was Trinity’s third top-three finish of 2010, after coming in second out of 19 teams at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on April 11 and first in a tri-match with Hamilton and Williams in Florida on March 25. Consistent rounds from Bermingham along with solid performances from junior Josh Grossman (Great Neck, N.Y.) and senior Reid Longley (Atlanta, Ga.) will be key to to the success of the Bantams this weekend. Longley, the 2006 and 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year, finished first during last spring’s championship weekend but came in tied for 10th overall at the fall qualifier. Grossman, the 2007 NESCAC Player of the Year, has performed well this April and completed the Williams Spring Open tied for sixth (155, +11).
Hamilton heads to Williamstown this weekend with plans for a
fourth NESCAC crown following a pair of impressive finishes at the
last two spring conference championship events. During the first
spring tournament in 2008, Hamilton was second to Williams, while
in 2009 the Continentals were third, just three strokes behind
Middlebury and Trinity. For the Continentals, three strokes proved
to be the difference between hosting the conference championship
and hitting the road this weekend. Hamilton was in the lead
following day one at Waubeeka with a score of 291, six strokes
ahead of Williams. The Continentals could not repeat the
performance on day two, though, and shot 306 on Sunday for a
combined total of 597 and a second place finish. Leading Hamilton
back to the NESCAC championship were senior Phil Preiss (Lake
Forest, Ill.) and junior Brad Roche (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.).
Preiss shot arguably one of the best weekends of his collegiate
career last October, posting back-to-back even-par rounds of 71 and
finishing first overall to claim NESCAC Player of the Year. Roche
also fired a 71 on day one and ended the qualifier tied for third
with a score of 148 (+6). Roche was the top linksman for the
Continentals this past weekend at the Williams Spring Open, placing
fifth overall (154, +12). Roche and company hope to lead Hamilton
to its first NESCAC championship since 2003, the last time the
tournament was shortened by rain.
“Our players worked hard last fall to be in this position
(as host) and are prepared for a tight competition. Any one of the
4 teams has the chance to get "hot" and dominate the field, but I
feel it will come down to the team that stays patient and sticks to
their game plan for playing the course,” noted Pohle.
“Taconic Golf Club is a very challenging golf course that
requires good course management skills to score well on.”
Nestled in the Berkshire region of Western Massachusetts, the Taconic Golf Club traces its beginnings to 1896, when three men with three tomato cans began the formation of what is today rated as one of the top collegiate courses in the country. A combination of land gifts to Williams in 1927 provided the space for the course and Wayne Stiles of Stiles & Van Kleek was commissioned to design and construct an 18 hole course. Construction was completed under the supervision of Richard Baxter, the club professional and greenskeeper at the time, by Labor Day in 1928. The course was revised in 1955 and underwent a major renovation during the summer of 2009. The par-71, 6,640-yard course, which has a rating of 71.7 and a slope rating of 127, hosted the NESCAC Golf Championship every other year from 1999 until 2005, alternating with the Ralph Myhre Golf Course, and served as the site for the 1999 NCAA Division III Golf Championship.
