Knisel Leads Men's Golf in First Day of NECC Championship

WEST BOYLSTON, Mass. – The Babson College Beavers sit atop the team leaderboard after the opening 18 holes of play at the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Men's Golf Championship, hosted at Wachusett Country Club on Saturday afternoon.

The Beavers lead the tournament field by 26 strokes with a team score of 286, paced by Chris Bornhorst with a round-low 69 after firing 11 pars and five birdies. Babson's Reed Wilson is one stroke back in second with a 70, followed by teammate Martin Jensen in third with a 73.

Springfield College sits second with a score of 312 and was led by Mike Strong, who owns a share of fourth with a 74, followed by Jacob Raichle and Matt Gazaille at eighth with a 78. Elms College is third on the leaderboard as Mike Fleury and James Shalhoup fired team lows of 80 to claim a share of 11th.

Dean College is nine strokes back of the Blazers in fourth place after shooting a 333 in its championship debut, featuring a 79 from Austin McCreary to grab 10th overall. Becker College is fifth on the team leaderboard, led by an 82 from Colin McCarthy, while Mitchell College is one stroke behind the Hawks as Nick Knisel shot a four-over-par 76 to own a share of sixth place.

Knisel's round of 76, which included a pair of birdies, was the lowest by a Mitchell golfer in the 10-year history of the tournament. He played the par-3 and par-5 holes even on the round. Teammates Michael Izzo and David Eichelberg each carded rounds of 88 while Jake Hancock shot 96. 

Championship play will conclude with the final round of action at Wachusett Country Club on Sunday starting at 11:00 a.m.