Bulldogs tabbed ninth

BULLDOGS GARNER FIRST-PLACE VOTE. TABBED NINTH IN NEC PRESEASON POLL

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Despite earning one of 11 first-place votes, the Bryant University golf team was picked by the league's coaches to finish ninth in the Northeast Conference.

Bryant will compete as a team in the NEC Tournament for this first time this season after having competed as individuals only over the last four years. Freshman Kyle Buschmann (East Haddam, CT/Xavier) led the team with a 74.9 average through the fall and placed in the top-10 three times, while junior Zach Garbacik (South Hadley, MA/South Hadley) and senior Samuel Russell (Southborough, MA/Saint John's) tied for 12th at last year's NEC Tournament to earn the top finishes for the Bulldogs.

The coaches tabbed Sacred Heart to finish atop the team leaderboard as the Pioneers took him six first-place votes. Central Connecticut picked up two top nods to earn a second-place prediction, while LIU Brooklyn was picked third with one first-place tally. Robert Morris and Saint Francis U round out the top five, respectively, with Mount St. Mary's pulling in a first-place vote while tabbed to finish sixth in the league slate. Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth come in just ahead of the Bulldogs at seventh and eighth, repectively, while Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn round out the 12-team poll.

The Bulldogs kick off the 2013 season March 11-12 at the Lonnie Barton Invitational at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., the same location that will host the NEC Championships, to be held May 3-5.