Negus and Teal Lead Gulls to Ninth Place Finish at NEIGA DIII Championships

BEVERLY, Mass.- Competing in the final competition of the fall season, the Endicott men's golf team finished tied for ninth out of 22 teams at the NEIGA DIII Championships held at The Captains Course in Brewster, Mass. The Gulls were led by Dan Negus (Pembroke, Mass.) and Austin Teal (Loudonville, N.Y.) as the duo finished in a tie for 28th.

For Negus, the finish was a 19 spot improvement from day one to day two as he stood tied for 47th after day one with a round of 81. The junior was able to drop four strokes off his round two score, carding a 77 to finish the tournament with a 158. Teal posted identical rounds of 79 on Sunday and Monday as he made a jump from 31st to 27th on day two on the par 72 course that saw the teams compete on the Port Course 1 and Starboard Course 2.

Sophomore Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.) finished tied for 48th with a two-day total of 161. Palazzo fired an opening round 84 before carding  a 77 on day two to close his championship appearance. Senior Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine) was just behind, finishing with a two round total of 162 to end in a tie for 51st. Sophomore Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) ended his fall campaign in a tie for 63rd after posting a combined 165.

BEHIND THE CARD

Palazzo, who shot an 84 on day one, cut seven strokes on his second day to post the best second round improvement to go from tied for 72nd on day one to finish tied for 48th at the end of the Championship.

Negus saw the biggest year-to-year improvement as he finished tied for 50th in the fall of 2014 and went on to finish tied for 28th in 2015. Benshoff and Palazzo also saw improvements as they competed in the Championship for a second straight year as Benshoff went from 66th in 2014 to 63rd in 2015 while Palazzo closed in 48th after tying for 50th last year.

The Gulls have now posted back-to-back top 10 finishes at the NEIGA DIII Championship as the team finished seventh in 2014 and ninth in 2015.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott has now finished its fall season and will work throughout the off-season as they ready for a spring season that will see the Gulls compete for their fourth Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title in five years. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.