READING, Pa. — The Penn State Berks men's golf team won its first ever North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) and Andrew Cornish became the first Golfer of the Year in program history after finishing as the individual champion on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions collected a 321 this afternoon, to give them a two-day score of 630 on the par-71, 6583-yard Williamsport Country Club. Full results are available here.
Berks entered the day two strokes ahead of Rutgers-Camden and seven in front of Penn College. The Nittany Lions widened their lead on Sunday to finish eight strokes ahead of Rutgers-Camden and Penn College, who both had a 638. Rutgers-Camden took the tie-breaker to finish second. Rounding out the top five teams were SUNY Cobleskill (654) and Morrisville State College (692) in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Cornish receives the NEAC Golfer of the Year honor after finishing No. 1 in the tournament. In addition, Cornish was named the NEAC Rookie of the Year, joining Ethan Cairns (2016-17) as the only members in program history to earn the award. Rick Bausher was voted on by his peers as the NEAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Cornish had a score of 78 (+7) to give him a two-day total of 148, which was six strokes ahead of a pair of Rutgers-Camden golfers who finished tied for second with a 154. Matt Kreider saw a one stroke improvement on day two to give him a tournament score of 157 and place fourth in the field of 42 golfers. Cornish and Kreider both earned a spot on the NEAC First Team, marking the first time that the Nittany Lions had two earn first team recognition in the same season.
Dan Fieger turned in his best performance of the season with a 79, after shooting an 81 yesterday. Fieger's score of 160 placed him seventh overall and earned him a spot on the All-NEAC Second Team. Jacob Siegfried (169) finished tied for 20th, while Cairns (170) was tied for 22nd.
Under the guidance of Bausher and assistant coach Eric Lamm, the men's golf program has quickly turned into a top contender. The team finished as the conference runner-up last spring and now in Bausher and Lamm's third year at the helm, the team has its first title.
Next up for the team will make its first trip to the NCAA Tournament, which goes from Tuesday, May 15, through Friday, May 18. The tournament will be played on Golf at Grandover in Greensboro, North Carolina.