Bryant picked by NEC coaches to defend conference title

SOMERSET, N.J. – The Bryant University men's golf team has been picked to defend its conference crown in the annual Northeast Conference coaches poll, as announced Tuesday by the NEC office.

Bryant received five first-place votes in the ballot of the NEC's nine head coaches. Central Connecticut was picked second with three first-place selections, while Fairleigh Dickinson was chosen to finish third with the remaining first-place vote.

Robert Morris and Sacred Heart rounded out the top five and were followed by Saint Francis U, Wagner, LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.

The Bulldogs won the 2017 Northeast Conference Championship last April at LPGA International by 26 strokes over Fairleigh Dickinson. Bryant had four players in the top 11 and return two of those golfers in graduate student John Roberts (West Hartford, Conn.) and junior Ryan Brown (Bedford, N.H.). Head coach Charlie Blanchard was named NEC Coach of the Year as the Black and Gold won their second league title in the last four seasons and qualified for the NCAA Washington Regional in Sammamish, Washington.

Brown had a pair of top-five finishes in the fall while sophomore Connor Henderson (Southborough, Mass.) added one as well. Sophomore Matthew Stafford (Suffield, Conn.) recorded a 72.8 scoring average in fall play.

Bryant opens its 2018 spring slate March 5-6 in the Lonnie Barton Invitational at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, site of the 2018 NEC Championship.

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