HAMDEN, Conn. - The New England College men's golf team sits six strokes behind first place Albertus Magnus College after the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference at the New Haven Country Club in Hamden, Connecticut. 

NEC freshman Emil Elias (Ekerö, Sweden) posted the team's lowest score of the first round with a 78 (+8) with a 38 on the front nine and a 40 on the back, including a birdie on 18. After day one, the rookie is tied for sixth overall on the individual leaderboard. One stroke behind Elias, senior Graham Hassan (Pinckney, Mich.) posted a 79 (+9) with a 38 on the front nine followed by a 41 on the back nine as he sits in eighth place. 

Sophomore Vesse-Wincent Lampen (Espoo, Finland) is tied for 10th place with an 82 (+12). He shook off a nine on the fifth hole to post a 39 on the front nine and a 43 on the back. Fellow sophomore Dalton Gordon (Boscawen, N.H.) scored a team-best 37 on the front nine but faltered a bit with a 46 on the back nine. His 83 (+13) put him in a tie for 12th overall. Sophomore Bryce Sturm (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) rounded out the team's efforts with an 84 (+14) which was good for 16th.  

With 18 holes left to play, it is the hosting Falcons of Albertus-Magnus who hold first place on their home course at +36. Emmanuel College used a strong finish to surge into second place at +41, while NEC and Norwich followed just behind with +42. Just six strokes separate the top four teams while fifth place Saint Joseph's (ME) lags 15 strokes behind. Individually, everyone is chasing Cooper Bertrand of the Cadets who posted a 71 (+1).  

The Pilgrims will attempt to make up ground during day two action tomorrow as the first tee groups will start at 8:30 AM. Sturm will be the first 'Grim out on the course as he tees off around 9:20 AM. 

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