Men's Golf remains in first place after second round of NEC Championships

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Senior Ryan Tombs (Bedford, NH) recorded four birdies – including three on the back nine – as the Bryant University golf team turned in another strong performance in the second round of the 2017 Northeast Conference Championships Saturday at LPGA International.  

Leading by nine strokes after Friday's opening round, the Bulldogs will take a 15-shot lead into Sunday's final round.

On Saturday, Bryant finished with team score of 297, four shots better than second-place Robert Morris for the round as the Bulldogs hold a 593-608 overall lead on the Colonials. Fairleigh Dickinson is third at 611 while Central Connecticut and Saint Francis University are tied for fourth at 619.

Tombs, who shot an opening-round 74 on Friday, began the second round with a birdie on the first hole of the day and closed out the afternoon with solid birdies on the 16th and 17th and a par on the 18th to card in with a 71. With the 1-under score, the senior moves into a tie for second place overall individually with teammate McKinley Slade (Saunderstown, RI) with a two-day score of 145.  Slade carded a round of 76 after opening the tournament with a 69.    

Wagner's Anton Frondelius is also tied with the pair at second on the leaderboard at 145 (71-74). Saint Francis University's Brandon Mihalo is the tournament's overall individual leader at 141 (-3).

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 14 after three holes, but the Colonials managed to get within nine midway through the front before Bryant pushed its lead back up to 10 by the time the team hit the turn. Slade followed a bogey on eight with a birdie on the par-4, 441-yard ninth to help keep the Bulldogs in front. 

John Roberts (West Hartford, Conn.) was just two over through nine and finished shooting 76, while Ryan Brown (Bedford, NH) turned in a solid second round as the sophomore was even through 12 and finished just two over par with a round of 74 on the day. Freshman Will Del Biaggio (San Jose, Calif.) had three birdies on the day and finished with an 80. 

After recording 10 birdies on Friday, the Bulldogs had 13 in the second round, giving them a tournament-best 23 after two rounds. 

Bryant will seek its second Northeast Conference Championship with the final round on Sunday.  The Bulldogs won the tournament in 2015 and fell in a playoff to Wagner at last year's championship.  Final-round play begins at 7:30 am. 

John Roberts (West Hartford, Conn.) was just two over through nine and finished shooting 76, while Ryan Brown (Bedford, NH) turned in a solid second round as the sophomore was even through 12 and finished just two over par with a round of 74 on the day. Freshman William Del Biaggio (San Jose, Calif.) had three birdies on the day and finished with an 80. 

After recording 10 birdies on Friday, the Bulldogs had 13 in the second round giving them a tournament best 23 after two rounds.

Bryant will seek its second Northeast Conference Championship with the final round on Sunday.  The Bulldogs won the tournament in 2015 and fell in a playoff to Wagner at last year's championship.  Final round play begins at 7:30 am.