CELEBRATION, Fla. - Devin O'Grady (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim
Township) finished ninth at the Northeast Conference (NEC)
Men's Golf Championships to lead Mount St. Mary's to a third-place
standing on Sunday.
Coming into the final round, O'Grady ranked fourth with a
two-round program-record score of 145 after shooting a one-over
round (73) on Friday and an even round (72) on Saturday. The
freshman registered a 77 on Sunday to card a three-round score of
222 to finish ninth, seven strokes behind the medalist. It marks
the 19th time in program history the Mount had a player place in
the Top-10 while O'Grady becomes the 14th different player to
accomplish the feat and the first since Brad Gerick in 2009, who
also finished ninth in that event. The three-round score of 222 is
the third-best three-round mark in the championships in program
history. By finishing in the Top-10, O'Grady was named to the NEC
All-Tournament team.
As a team, the Mount finished third with a three-round score of
914 after registering a 305 in the first round, a 297 in the second
round and a 312 on the final day. The third-place finish is the
squad's best finish at the NEC Championships since placing second
in 1998. The Mount posted fourth-place standings in 2003, 2008 and
2010. The 914 was the second-best three-round mark in team history
at the championships.
For the second-straight day, the Mountaineers counted four
scores in the 70s. O'Grady's 77 was the top-team performance on the
afternoon while Tonny Aizpun (Barcelona, Spain/Lycee Francais De
Barcelone) and Kevin Ellison (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) each
carded a 78 and Dan Michalek (Mount Airy, Md./Mount St. Joseph)
posted a 79 to count toward the team score of 312 for the day. Ray
Hyre (Bowie, Md./Bowie) rounded out the Mount's five competitors
with an 84 on Sunday.
Along with O'Grady, Michalek (18th place, 232), Aizpun (24th
place, 233), Ellison (29th place, 235) and Hyre (35th place, 238)
all helped the Mount to its best standing in the league tournament
in 13 years.
Sacred Heart won the three-day event (888), 22 strokes ahead of
Robert Morris (910) while the Mount (914), Central Connecticut
State (915), Saint Francis (Pa.) (917), Fairleigh Dickinson (919),
Monmouth (921), Long Island (923), Wagner (963) and St. Francis
(N.Y.) (1019) rounded out the 10-team field.
The 2011 NEC Men's Golf Championships concluded the 2010-11
campaign for the squad.
