Hartford Golfers Win Philly Big Five

With a final round team score of 291, the University of Hartford men's golf team erased a 12-stroke deficit to win the Philadelphia Big Five Invitational at the Philmont Country Club by one stroke.

The Hawks sat in a tie for 13th place in the field, 12 shots off the lead held by Sacred Heart and Yale after Saturday's opening round. Hartford's combined score of 291 in Sunday's final round was 27 strokes better than the squad's first-round effort, giving Hartford a score of 609 for the two-round tournament. The Hawks edged runner-up Sacred Heart, which finished the tournament at 610.

The team's final-round 291 was the only team round in the field to break 300 over the weekend.

Hartford men's golf has now taken home the title in its last two tournaments and has won three of its last four tourneys for the first time since 1996-97. The Hawks have not finished outside the top six in any of their five tournaments this fall.
 
Sophomore Anthony Vecchiarelli led the late charge for the Hawks, carding a two-under-par 70 in the final round. The sophomore from Agawam, Mass., was back in the Hawk lineup for the first time since the Adams Cup of Newport to open the season. Vecchiarelli was the biggest individual mover in the field, jumping from a tie for 48th place after his first-round 80 all the way into a tie for seventh in the field with a 36-hole 150.

Freshman teammate Evan Russell also shot a 150 for the tournament to tie for seventh with Vecchiarelli. Russell paired a final-round 73 with his first-round score of 77 to share the team lead with Vecchiarelli.
 
Wally Gonzalez also shot a 73 over the final 18 holes. Gonzalez improved his score by seven strokes on the second day after shooting 80 during the first round. The sophomore finished with a 36-hole 153, jumping 33 slots on the individual leaderboard from a tie for 48th place into a tie for 15th.
 
Junior Patrick Ross shot a 75 on Sunday, six strokes ahead of his Saturday pace to finish the tournament at 156 while sophomore Dan Yustin rounded out the Hartford five with a score of 160 after a final-round 77.