Men’s Golf Captures Eighth Straight Empire 8 Championship

For the eighth consecutive year, the St. John Fisher College men’s golf team claimed the Empire 8 Championship after the Cardinals posted a team score of 636 (+68) over the weekend at the Empire 8 Spring Championship at the par-71, 6,551-yard Hershey County Club East Course.

The Cardinals, who had three golfers finish in the top four and have now won 15 Empire 8 titles overall, will receive the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship, which is slated to begin on Tuesday, May 15, at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Fisher, which entered the tournament with a 28-stroke lead after its showing in the fall championship, finished the 72-hole championship with a combined score of 1221 (+77), ahead of second- and third-place teams from SUNY Oswego and Stevens Institute of Technology.

Nicholas Calabrese won the championship after carding a final round 82 (+11).  The junior, who was the only player to score under par during the fall championship, was named First-Team All-Conference after concluding the 72-hole championship at nine-over-par overall.  Calabrese led all players over the weekend with 20 pars while his two birdies were the second-most among all players.

Christopher Fritch placed second overall after firing a +10 on Sunday to wrap up the spring portion of the championship at +16. Over the weekend, Fritch posted 18 pars and had a pair of birdies as well.  Christopher Thompson was fourth over 36 holes this weekend at +19 and was named First-Team All-Conference while Colin McGaugh also nailed down a First-Team All-Conference selection after securing a seventh place finish on Sunday at 21-over. McGaugh, who entered the weekend tied for third place, wrapped up the championship at +24. The Hamilton native led the field with three birdies and had 15 pars to his name.

Brandon Fink had a strong showing in the spring championship and finished in a two-way tie for fifth place after completing the tournament at +20. Fink was second overall in pars this weekend while his two birdies were the second-most of any golfer. Andrew Fedele, who was named Second-Team All-Conference following his performance over the weekend, finished tied for 18th at +33. Fedele posted a four-round mark of +36 after wrapping up the fall tournament at three-over-par.