Endicott Finishes Tied for Second at the Hampton Inn Collegiate Invite, Hosted by UMass Dartmouth

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.-  Led by Austin Teal's (Loudonville, N.Y.) two-round total of 154 (77, 77), the Endicott golf team finished in a tie for second place at the Hampton Inn Collegiate Invite, hosted by Mass. Dartmouth.  The Gulls held their ground after an opening round 320 that had them in second place, finishing their second round with a combined 330 to give them a 650 overall.  Their score was just nine strokes off the winning score of 641 put forth by Rhode Island College as Teal's fourth place finish led the charge.  Endicott returns to action Thursday when they head west to compete in the Western New England Invitational at the Veterans Golf Course in Springfield, Mass.

Finishing second for Endicott was Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) who closed with a two day total of 163.  The freshman opened his play with a round of 80 before finishing day two with an 83.  The 163 was good enough to tie for 16th individually in the 85 man field.  

Closing in a tie for 28th was junior Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine) with a score of 166.  Viola opened with an 81 before finishing day two with an 85, the same second day total as Dan Negus (Pembroke, Mass.).  Negus also shot an opening round 83 to finish with a 168, tying him for 33rd overall.  Freshman Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.) rounded out the scoring for the Gulls, finishing with a 173 after rounds of 82 and 91.

Endicott travels to Springfield, Mass. for the Western New England Invitational on Thursday before traveling to Cranston, R.I. for the two day Johnson & Wales Invitational at the Cranston Country Club on Saturday and Sunday.  The JWU Invitational will be the last competition before the Gulls play host to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships on the 25th and 26th at Beverly Golf and Tennis, in Beverly, Mass.