May 11, 2021

The Basics

• The lead: The Stevens Institute of Technology golf team opened play at the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Championship Tuesday, finishing with a team score of 332. Junior Eddie Sot paced the Ducks with a 9-over 80. 
• Score: Stevens (332) - 32nd place
• Location: Speidel Jones Course (Speidel Golf Club at Oglebay) - Wheeling, W.Va.. (Par 71 - 6,657 yards)
• Short Story: Sot finished the round with two birdies, with one coming on the par-5 eighth hole, which covered the largest yardage on the course. Sot scored par on three of his first four holes on the day. The junior finished 4-over on the front nine and 5-over on the back nine, to tie for 10th place, 10 shots off the pace. 
• The Leaderboard: Defending national champion, Illinois Wesleyan University holds the lead through one round, shooting a 6-over 290. Huntingdon College is three shots back second place, completing the opening round on the Palmer Course 9-over 289. St. John's (Minn.) University finished 15-over and will open Wednesday's second round nine shots off the pace. Five programs sit in fourth place at 16-over. Individually, Webster University's Will Hocker is tied with Illinois Wesleyan's Jimmy Morton and St. John's Glavine Schugel at 1-under. A group of four student-athletes sit one shot off the pace as only seven competitors finished with a par score or better. A total of 37 institutions and 191 individuals are competing. After Wednesday's second round, the field will be cut to 18 teams and six individuals not on one of the advancing teams for the final 36 holes. 

The Finishes

• Sophomore Eegan McDermott and first-year Gus Vickers finished three shots behind Sot, carding a 12-over 83. McDermott led the Ducks with three birdies and was 2-over through the front nine. McDermott, who birdied his first the first hole of the competition, closed out his day with a par on the 18th hole. Vickers, meanwhile, shot one birdie on the day and finished with seven pars.
• Senior Vincent Cortese was the Ducks' other scoring golfer, finishing 12-over for the day. The Flagstaff, Arizona native birdied the sixth hole and totaled six pars. 
• Senior Luke Labenski rounded out the Ducks' contingent with a 94. 

From the Greens (Head Coach Charles Papendick)

• "Obviously not our best performance this spring on the biggest stage we've been on, but no one quit. Our student-athletes have the resolve to come back tomorrow and do their best to put up a good round and improve our position."

Up Next

• The second day of competition kicks off the Ducks at 9:20 a.m. A live stats link is available on StevensDucks.com. Stevens will be competing on the Palmer Course, a par-70, covering 6,621 yards.

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