EAST MONTPELIER, V.T. – The New England College men's golf team is tied for first with Emmanuel (Mass.) College after shooting a team score of 312 (+28) in the opening round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship at the Country Club of Barre on Monday.
Senior Cameron Sheedy (Nashua, N.H.) led the Pilgrims in the opening round, carding a 76 (+5). Sheedy shot a 34 on the front nine before finishing with a 42 on the back nine. He recorded birdies on the eighth and 15th holes and enters Tuesday tied for third on the individual leaderboard.
Just one stroke behind Sheedy, sophomore Emil Elias (Ekerö, Sweden) posted a 77 (+6). Elias shot a 37 on the front nine, highlighted by three birdies, before carding a 40 on the back nine that included an eagle and two pars. He currently sits alone in fifth place. Elias is tied for first on par 3s, averaging par, and T1 with three birdies.
Freshman Edouard Belval-Turmel (Quebec, Canada) is tied for eighth after shooting a 79 (+8). Belval-Turmel recorded nine pars and one birdie on his way to rounds of 38 and 41.
Rounding out the Pilgrims' team score was junior Vesse-Wincent Lampen (Espoo, Finland), who carded an 80 (+9). After shooting a 41 on the front nine, including two double bogeys, Lampen bounced back with a team-best 39 on the back nine. He enters Tuesday tied for 12th overall.
Sophomore Aiden Boule (Concord, N.H.) rounded out the NEC lineup with an 85 (+14), putting him in a tie for 18th heading into the second round. The team was first on par 3s averaging a 3.2 and par 5s averaging par as a team. They had a total of seven birdies -- tied for first, and 40 total pars.
The Pilgrims and Saints enter Tuesday tied atop the team leaderboard with a two-stroke advantage over host Norwich University. The top three teams are separated by just two strokes, while 13 strokes separate third-place Norwich from fourth-place Albertus Magnus College, last year's runner-up.
On the individual leaderboard, Emmanuel's Ryan Brunet and Norwich's Cooper Bertrand are tied for first at 74 (+3).
NEC will look to carry its momentum into Tuesday's second round, with the first group scheduled to tee off at 9:00 a.m. Boule will lead off for the Pilgrims at 10:40 a.m.
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