GORHAM, ME – Rhode Island College turned in a 306 card on Sunday and posted a collective two-day 606 score to claim the 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Golf Championship, which was hosted by Saint Joseph's College and held at the Gorham Country Club over the weekend.

The Anchormen edged runner-up University of Southern Maine by just three strokes while UMass.-Dartmouth finished third with a 619 score. Anna Maria College (630), Johnson & Wales University (632), Saint Joseph's College (632), Emmanuel College (674), and Suffolk University (686) also participated in the conference championship.

Rhode Island freshman Ryan Butler (Windham, N.H.) earned medalist honors with an even-par 142 (68-74), five strokes ahead of the runner-up performer, USM first-year A.J. Simokaitis (Falmouth, Maine). With the win, Butler, who carded a tourney-low 68 on Saturday, collects GNAC Player and Rookie of the Year honors.

Harper's 142 ranks as the lowest individual score and the 606 team card posted by the Anchormen counts as the best team score in the six-year history of the GNAC Tournament. 

USM junior Josh Hogan (Falmouth, Maine) carded a 149 (76-73) to finish third, Huskies senior Brett Kapteina (Stamford, Conn.) placed fourth (151, 75-76), and Anna Maria post-grad Chris Kusz (Paxton, Mass.) (153, 78-75) round out the 2011 Golf All-Conference Team, which consists of the top five GNAC Championship performers.

Sophomore Kevin Richardson (Coventry, Conn.) shot a 76 on day two and paced the Monks with a 156 card in the two-day tourney. Steve Simonds '15 (Steep Falls, Maine) shot a 158 (79-79), Jake Brown '13 (Lewiston, Maine) turned in a 161 (83-78), and Jeff Hilton '13 (Limington, Maine) and Ebb Walton '12 (Blue Hill, Maine) both tallied 162 scores for the Royal Blue.

With the conference championship, Rhode Island College gains an automatic berth into the 2012 NCAA DIII Championship, which will take place next spring. 

Saint Joseph's will wrap up the 2011 campaign with an appearance in the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championship on October 16, 17 & 18 at The Captain's Golf Course in Brewster, Mass. 

2011 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: