WESTFIELD, Mass. – MCLA sophomore Matt Gover (Atkinson, N.H.) defended his individual title with a score of 2-under par the 2024 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men's golf championships hosted by Westfield State at the Ranch Golf Club in Southwick, Mass.
Salem State claimed the team title, and with it the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in the spring.
Salem finished with a team score of 619 in the tournament, 20 strokes better than runner up MCLA. Springfield College was third. League newcomer Marymount (Va.) was fourth, Worcester State was fifth, followed by the hosts from Westfield in sixth, and Marywood (Pa.), another newcomer to the MASCAC, was seventh.
Salem entered the day with a three-stroke deficit to MCLA, but turned the tables by shooting +16 as a team on Sunday. The Vikings' Dan DeLisio finished second individually with a score of even par 72 on the day Sunday and +1 for the two-day, 36-hole tournament. Colin Richmond placed fourth after shooting 74 on Sunday, and Ethan Doyle was eighth at 15 over for the tourney.
The par-72 course played approximately 6,700 yards on Sunday.
Gover led by one stroke going into the day after posting a 1-under 71 on Saturday. Marymount's Chase Manion entered Sunday's final round in second, one stroke back, and eagled the first hole on Sunday to briefly tie for the lead, but slipped back with a triple bogey on the par-5 ninth. He finished with a 78 on Sunday and +6 for the tournament to finish alone in third at +6 for the weekend.
DiLisio made a run at Gover with a pair of birdies on the back nine to trim the final individual margin to three strokes, as Gover finished at -2 overall while DiLisio came in at +1
Westfield State was led by Justin Cataldo, who finished 11th with a score of +16 (78-82-160), one shot out of the all-conference placings.
The Owls' Brett Gratz finishd the tournament in 18th place at +21. Will Gangi, Andrew Mason, and Cameron Schnopp rounded out the Westfield State contingent.
Westfield will finish up the fall portion of their schedule at the Battle at Bulls Bridge, at the Bulls Bridge Golf Club in South Kent, Conn on Oct. 28