Salem State Claims 2021 MASCAC Golf Championship, Doyle Captures Individual Title as Four Vikings Earn All-Conference Honors
Pittsfield, Mass. --- The Salem State men's golf team placed three golfers in the 70's to capture the rain shortened 2021 MASCAC Championship this afternoon at Berkshire Hills Country Club. The event was regularly scheduled for 36 holes but was reduced to 27 after yesterday's rains forced the cancellation of the back nine.
The Vikings shot a solid 467 (+23) to earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The tournament will be held this spring.
Salem State easily outpaced Springfield College who finished solo second at 482. Mitchell College (484) and Westfield State (493) were third and fourth respectively.
Viking Ethan Doyle took home medalist honors rallying with a three under par round of 71 today to hold off teammate Brian Cannata by four shots. Doyle's two day total was 111 (E). For his efforts, he was named the conferences player and rookie of the year.
Mitchell's Michael McCarthy claimed third place (117) while teammate Nick Knisel and Springfield College's Damon Monks tied for fourth at 118.
Monks had the highlight of the tournament when he aced the par 3, 13th hole at Berkshire Hills. From 185 yards out, his iron landed just past the pin, spun back, and settled in the cup for his first career hole in one. The shot propelled him atop the leaderboard, but a couple of miscues coming in dropped him to fourth place.
Travis Ryan and Matt Godbout tied for ninth with a two-day 122 (+11) for the Vikings in a strong showing. Danny DiLisio (128, +19) rounded out the field for Salem State, tying for 19th place.
First-year head coach James O'Reilly, who earned MASCAC Coach of the Year, was impressed with his team's resolve after perfroming in adverse conditions.
"Incredible effort across the board by everyone. We knew coming in if we played our game we would be tough to beat with the talent we have. The weather was miserable and the course was saturated but we overcame it and and fought through it. I couldnt be prouder of these guys. I am so happy they will get the chance to compete for an NCAA Championship. They earned it!
Ethan Doyle was individual champion and rookie of the year and first team all-conference. He played an absolute flawless round of golf today and shot 3-under par. It was fun to watch. Brian Cannata was also first team all conference and played incredible golf to finish second overall. Our Captains Travis Ryan and Matt Godbout made 2nd team all conference, and Danny Dilisio holed out from 125 yards yesterday to pace us to a 7-shot lead."
This is the first MASCAC Championship for the Vikings since fall of 2017. They will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 this spring.
2021 MASCAC Golf Championship Results
