Viola's 70 Sparks Gulls to Victory at UNE Invitational

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine- The Endicott men's golf team claimed their second consecutive first place finish on Tuesday, winning the UNE Invitational at the Cape Arundel Golf Club.  The Gulls finished first out of six teams, topping the nearest institution by eight strokes on their way to shooting a 292 on the par 69 course.  With the win, the Gulls now have finished in the top two in four of the six tournaments this fall.

Leading the charge for the Gulls and finishing in a tie for medalist honors was Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine) as he recorded a +1, 70.  Viola lost a tie-breaker for medalist honors that was determined by the matching of cards beginning at the hardest handicap hole.  Viola's 70 came after a score of 37 on the par 35 front nine before closing with a 33 on the par 34 back nine. 

Just behind Viola and alone in fifth place just two strokes back was junior Austin Teal (Loudinville, N.Y.) who shot a combined +3, 72 after front and back scores of 36.  Tied for 6^th was freshman Hunter Donovan (Albany, N.Y.) who shot a 74 after opening with a 41 and closing with a 33.  Rounding out the scoring for Endicott was Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.), who notched a +7, 76 (39, 37).  Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) closed out the day for the Gulls as he finished with a round of 81 (39, 42).

The next closest team to the Gulls was the University of Southern Maine who closed with a team score of 300.   Other team scores were UNE with a score of 307, Maine Maritime Academy with 311, Saint Joseph's with 323 and U. Maine-Farmington with 365.

Endicott is now off until Sunday, October 5^th when they head back to Maine to compete in the Southern Maine Invitational, a two day event.  The Invitational will be held at the Gorham Country Club in Gorham, Maine.