The Salem State men’s golf team placed three golfers in the ’70s to capture the rain-shortened 2021 Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championship Tuesday 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 score of 467 (23-over) to earn the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, which will be held in the spring of 2022.
Salem State easily outpaced Springfield College, which 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 even-par 111. For his efforts, he was named the conference’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Travis Ryan and Matt Godbout tied for ninth with a two-day 122 (11-over) for the Vikings in a strong showing. Danny DiLisio (128, 19-over) 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 performing in adverse conditions.
“Incredible effort across the board by everyone,” said O’Reilly. “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 fought through it. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. I am so happy they will get the chance to compete for an NCAA Championship. They earned it.”
This is the first MASCAC Championship for the Vikings since the fall of 2017. The team will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015.