NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Seeking its fifth consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference title, Rhode Island College sits in first place following the first day of action at the 2015 GNAC Men's Golf Championship, which got underway Saturday morning at the Allendale County Club in North Dartmouth, Mass.
The Anchormen shot a collective 313 on a windy Day One, and currently sit six strokes ahead of second-place Worcester State University, which posted a score of 319 Saturday on the par-72 course.
Host University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is in third place at 321, while Johnson & Wales University is also in the hunt at 324. For the complete Day One team results, please see below.
A total of seven student-athletes tied for the individual lead on with a Saturday card of 78. Three of those players hail from RIC – Steve Letterle, Tom Sheran and Drew Quirk – while teammate and 2014 GNAC Player of the Year Jonathan Cooper was just off the pace with a 79.
Mike Byron of the host Corsairs also carded a 78 on Saturday, as did Worcester State's Steven Ferraro, Johnson & Wales' Jon Nelson and Albertus Magnus College's Aaron Macchia.
Along with Cooper, Worcester State's Mike Jezierski and Saint Joseph's College of Maine's Cam Letourneau both shot a 79 on Saturday.
The two-day tournament concludes on Sunday at the beautiful Allendale Country Club, with tee times scheduled to get underway at 10:30 a.m. Sunday's weather forecast calls for sunny skies, although near-freezing temperatures in the early morning hours may push back tee times due to frost.
On Sunday, the top finisher and top rookie will automatically be named the GNAC Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively, while the student-athletes with the five lowest scores will receive All-Conference recognition.
Be sure to follow the GNAC on Twitter (@TheGNAC) for results updates and links to live video, courtesy of the UMass Dartmouth athletics department.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions, 12 associate member institutions, and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
2015 GNAC Championship - Day One Team Standings
1. Rhode Island College - 313
2. Worcester State - 319
3. UMass Dartmouth - 321
4. Johnson & Wales - 324
5. Saint Josephs (Maine) - 330
6. Southern Maine - 334
T7. Emmanuel (Mass.) - 351
T7. Suffolk - 351
9. Albertus Magnus - 385
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
