Two Bulldogs earn top-10 finishes, Bryant ties for second overall

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Seniors McKinley Slade (Saunderstown, R.I.) and Ryan Tombs (Bedford, N.H.) each finished inside the top-10 at the Coca-Cola Lehigh Valley Invite, as the Bryant University golf team tied for second in the 19-team field.

The Bulldogs equaled their round-one 298 but would make up no ground on the eventual winner UConn, who carded a 287 to hold onto the team title by 14 strokes (582). Bryant would finish tied with Drexel in the final standings.

Slade finished the competition tied for fifth overall with a three-over 147 after carding a 73 on Monday, while Tombs shot the same round-two 73 to finish tied for eighth with a two-day 148. Classmate John Roberts (West Hartford, Conn.) stayed consistent with two equal rounds of 75 to tie for 16th on the individual circuit, while freshman Will Del Biaggio (San Jose, Calif.) tied for 27th overall with a final score of 153 (76-77).

Sophomore Ryan Brown (Bedford, N.H.) stumbled after a strong Sunday round, dropping into a tie for 55th on Monday's final leaderboard (74-83=157).

Playing as individuals, rookie Matthew Stafford (Suffield, Conn.) and junior Gabriel Van Ness (Clinton, Conn.) carded rounds of 77 and 82 to finish tied for 58th (81-77=158) and 76th (79-82=161), respectively.

Wagner's Anton Frondelius won a three-man playoff on the second hole to take the individual title, followed by Villanova's Lucas Trim and UConn's Eric Dietrich.

The Bulldogs return to the greens April 14-15 at the Til Duty is Done Collegiate Invitational at the Mohegan Sun Gold Club in Baltic, Conn.