Buschmann, Bulldogs finish fifth at NEC Championships

BUSHMANN TAKES FIFTH OVERALL, LEADS BRYANT TO FIFTH-PLACE TEAM FINISH

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University golf team won the final round of play at the 2013 Northeast Conference Championship with a Sunday afternoon 304, jumping the Bulldogs up three places to finish tied for fifth overall.

Rookie Kyle Buschmann (East Haddam, Conn.) led the Black and Gold once more, carding a third-round 78 to finish fifth overall in the individual circuit with a six-over 222. Classmate Joseph Walp (Portland, Maine) also picked up a top-10 finish, playing to a Sunday 77 to finish four strokes behind Buschmann and capture ninth overall.

Junior Zach Garbacik (South Hadley, Mass.) played the strongest round of any Bulldog Sunday afternoon and the second-best round of any golfer on the day with one-over 73, finishing with a three-round score of 231 and tied for 19th in the individual standings.

Senior Samuel Russell (Southborough, Mass.) came in tied for 27th after his best lap of the tournament (76) for a two-day score of 235, and sophomore Conor McGovern (Darien, Conn.) also improved by two strokes, finishing at 266 and in 53rd place.

The Bulldogs finished in a tie with Monmouth for fifth in the team rankings, carding a three-round score of 914, just 10 strokes behind eventual winner Saint Francis U. Saturday's leader, LIU Brooklyn, took second with a 908, while Fairleigh Dickinson finished third in the 11-team field with a 909.

Robert Morris finished just two strokes ahead of Bryant and Monmouth, while Central Connecticut took seventh (915), Sacred Heart finished eighth (920) and Mount St. Mary's came in ninth (962). Wagner (966) and St. Francis Brooklyn (998) rounded out the tournament field.