UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's golf team opens its 2024 spring season in Hershey, PA for the Empire 8 Championships on Saturday, April 13 starting at 11 a.m. and Sunday, April 14 at 8 a.m. The outing will be played at the Hershey Country Club.
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University men's golf team wrapped up their final day of fall competition at the Empire 8 Championships on October 9. The team placed third overall shooting a 327 and a 646 after two days, 78-over-par. Utica had two golfers place in the top five overall after the second day, Neil Roman (Oswego, NY/Oswego) and Adam Woodmansee (Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore) (Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore). Roman placed fourth overall in the Championship completing the day with 77 strokes. He completed the competition two strokes better than yesterday's 79, totaling 156 on the scorecard after two days. Woodmansee led the way for Utica on day two shooting a 76, five-over-par and he tied for a second-round low, placing fifth. He shot a 36 on the front nine, followed by a 40 on the back nine. Over the two-day tournament, he recorded 158 strokes. Joey Bagnato (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) and Carter Lathrop (Walworth, NY/Gananda) finished with an 83, 12-over-par. Both golfers redeemed themselves on day two by shooting a better round on the scorecard. Over two days, Bagnato shot a 167. Lathrop completed the Championship right behind with 168 strokes. Nathan Macdonald (Canton, MA/Canton) and Phoenix Weydig (Kenwood, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) rounded out the day two scorecard. Macdonald finished today with an 85, totaling 167 strokes overall while Weydig scored a 91 with a score of 181 after two days.
 
How We Enter: Following the first two rounds of action in the fall, Utica comes into the spring portion in third place with a collective score of 78-over-par (646 strokes). St. John Fisher holds the lead at 47-over-par while SUNY Oswego is seven strokes ahead of the Pioneers in second at 71-over-par. Nazareth comes into the spring just behind Utica at 80-over-par followed by Russell Sage College (89-over-par), Elmira College (98-over-par) and Keuka College (123-over-par).
 
Last Spring: The Utica University men's golf team turned in a third-place finish in the Empire 8 Championships in 2023. The team shot a four-day low of 324 (40-over-par) on Sunday for a total score of 1,339 (195-over-par). Carter Lathrop (Walworth, NY/Gananda) and Adam Woodmansee (Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore) were named to the Empire 8 Second Team All-Conference after the pair finished eighth and ninth on the leaderboard, respectively. Lathrop shot 43-over-par-286, good enough for eighth, while Woodmansee finished two strokes back for a ninth-place finish. Lathrop shot s78 on Sunday while Woodmansee and teammate Neil Roman (Oswego, NY/Oswego) finished with an 81. Roman finished 18th overall shooting 57-over-par for the tournament. Other Sunday scores included Nathan MacDonald, who shot 84, Avery Strutz, who shot 86, and Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)), who totaled 90.
 
Lineups: The Pioneers will bring six golfers to the Championships. Adam Woodmansee (Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore), Neil Roman (Oswego, NY/Oswego), Nate Macdonald, Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX), Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, Ontario/Blyth Academy) and Joey Bagnato (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport).
 
Playing Field: Eight schools will be participating in the Empire 8 Championship. Elmira College, Keuka College, Nazareth University, Oswego State, Russell Sage College, St. John Fisher University and Utica.
 
Nate and Neil: Neil Roman (Oswego, NY/Oswego) and Nathan Macdonald (Canton, MA/Canton) led the team in the fall, each shooting a 77 in two separate events. Macdonald shot a 77 at the Oswego Fall Classic on October 1 and Roman shot a 77, 5-over-par at the SUNY Canton Fall Invitational.
 
Championship Course: The Hershey Country Club will play host to the 2024 Empire 8 Spring Championships. The club, which opened in 1930, actually has two courses: The East course, which is a 7,061-foot course, has a par of 71, and the West course, which is 6,860 feet, has a par of 73. The club also played host to the PGA Championship in 1940.
 
Up Next: The team heads to Oswego, NY for the Oswego State Spring Invitational on Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m. and Sunday, April 28 at 10:30 a.m.