Bulldogs tabbed as NEC top dogs; Bryant gets its swing ready for spring

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After a strong fall season and a narrow defeat in the first-ever NEC Championship playoff a season ago, the Bryant University golf team is expected to be the top dog in the Northeast Conference in 2017.

With six of a possible seven first-place votes in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Bulldogs return a pair of senior leaders to the roster in 2016 NEC Golfer of the Year McKinley Slade (Saunderstown, R.I.) and fellow All-NEC First Teamer Ryan Tombs (Bedford, N.H.).

Slade posted seven top-10 finishes in 2015-16, including a tie for fifth at the NEC Championship with an even-par 216 (69-75-72). His 72.8 stroke average per round led the conference by a wide margin, and he was a three-time NEC Golfer of the Week. Slade averaged a strong 73.9 through five events this fall.

A two-time All-NEC First Team honoree, Tombs was a two-time NEC Golfer of the Month this past fall, averaging an impressive 71.8 strokes per round after a strong 73.2 average last year. He tied for first at the 2016 NEC Championship with a three-under 213 (72-69-69) before falling in the third hole of a playoff. Tombs, who has finished no lower than second in three trips to the NEC Championship, posted four top-three finishes on the year.

Also posting strong fall seasons for the Black and Gold were rookies Will Del Biaggio (San Jose, Calif.) and Matthew Stafford (Suffield, Conn.). Del Biaggio equaled Slade's 73.9 strokes per round average, competing in all five events while earning two top-10 finishes. Stafford came on strong in the fall's second half, averaging 74.3 with a second-place finish against CCSU and a win in a head-to-head matchup against Brown.

Sophomore Ryan Brown (Bedford, N.H.) was a consistent presence for head coach Charlie Blanchard's Bulldogs in three outings during the start of the 2016-17 campaign, earning a top-10 finish at the season-opening Ryan Lee Memorial Tournament and earning a W against the Bears.

Senior John Roberts (West Hartford, Conn.) appeared in all five contests of the fall, averaging a 75.0 through 10 rounds and coming away at the top of the leaderboard against the Blue Devils Oct. 1-2. Roberts also scored his own victory against the Bruno in the head-to-head matchup.

Also making fall appearances for the Black and Gold were freshman Payton Kim (Palatine, Ill.), junior Gabriel Van Ness (Clinton, Conn.) and senior Hayden Maroun (Moultonborough, N.H.).

Defending NEC Champion Wagner College was picked to finish second with two first-place nods, with Robert Morris grabbing the final vote and coming in third in the preseason predictions. Bryant and Wagner finished with identical scores at last year's NEC Championship, but the Seahawks prevailed in the first playoff in league history.

The coaches tabbed Fairleigh Dickinson to finish fourth, Saint Francis U. fifth and Sacred Heart in the sixth spot. They were followed in order by Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn.

As a unit this fall, the Bulldogs earned a team tournament victory (Ryan Lee Memorial Tournament) and two dual match wins (vs. CCSU, vs. Brown) and added a top-five finish in October's Connecticut Cup. Bryant's per player average sits at 73.9 entering the spring segment, as the Black and Gold look to kick off spring play March 6-7 at the Lonnie Barton Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla.