Leicester, Mass. -- October 9, 2010 -- Craig DiFranco fired a four-over par 74 to lead his Springfield College men's golf team to a second-place finish after Day 1 of the New England Collegiate Conference golf championships at the Leicester Country Club just outside of Worcester.Springfield finds itself in second place as a team, nine strokes behind Elms College. Elms is in first with a score of 306, while Springfield is second with a score of 315. Babson College is third at 316, followed by Becker College (344), Daniel Webster College (347), Mitchell College (379), and Newbury College (417).
Phil Rurak of Elms is currently in first place as an individual with a round of 72. He shot 34-38 each nine. Craig DiFranco, a senior from East Longmeadow, Mass., is tied for second with a 74. He shot 39-35. Also in with 74s were Joseph Young and Matt Foley, each of Babson.
Also for the Pride, Kyle DiFranco (East Longmeadow, Mass.), a sophomore and Craig's brother, is in seventh place with a 77. Junior Thomas Sangeloty (Unionville, Conn.) is tied for 10th with an 82, as is freshman Mike Nowakowski (East Hampton, Conn.).
Rounding out the Pride's scores was junior Alex Brown (Portland, Me.) with an 89. He is tied for 21st.
The tourney will be completed tomorrow (Sunday) at the 6,026-yard, par-70 course.
Joe Eadie enters his 20th season as the head men's golf coach at Springfield College in the fall of 2012. Eadie is the head golf professional at the Fenway Golf Range in nearby East Longmeadow, and is in the process of becoming a PGA Professional. He also lead the Pride to their first NCAA Division III Championship in program history. Read more.