BREWSTER, Mass. – A season of building for the Keene State College golf programs continued this weekend when both the Owl men and women set new program-best marks at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) championship at The Captains Golf Course.

The Owl men shot a combined 319 on Saturday and improved to a 313 on Sunday for a team total of 632, betting their previous best team mark at the event by 47 strokes – their biggest year-over-year improvement in the young history of the program.  KSC shot a 691 in their inaugural season at the NEIGA, followed by a 681 the following year, and then a 679 last year.

Three Owls finished among the top 50 individually in a field of 119 golfers, led by junior Aidan Davis, who shot a 77 and a 76 to knot Matthew Tramonte (Salem State University) and Alex Grant (University of Southern Maine) for 23rd.  Rookie Taylor Miller carded a 79 both days to finish tied for 43rd, while Sean Bonneau combined for a 159 (83-76) to tie for 49th.  As a team, Keene State finished with 14 birdies over the two days including eight today – three by Davis, who took major strides this fall including an All-Little East First Team honor.  Davis was plus-four or better on every nine-hole segment at the tournament, including an even par 36 that featured two birdies and five pars on holes on the front nine on Sunday, a day in which three of KSC's four scorers all shot sub-80.  Bonneau had a pair of birdies and finished minus-one on the back nine to aid the Owls' day, while Miller had 12 pars and a birdie in his round of 79.

Keene State had already set a new best score on the course on Saturday when they shot a 319 and were 11th among the 22 teams, but just 15 strokes away from being in the top three in an increasingly close field.  Miller (79) had three birdies and Davis (77) two on day one of the event, with Davis finishing the day five shots from a three-way tie at the top with Shawn Amari (University of Hartford), Derek Johnson (Western New England University), and Connor LaCross (Endicott College), all of whom were even.

Johnson ended up edging LaCross by one shot for individual medalist honors at the event, shooting an even par 144 (72 both days).  He had six birdies and an eagle over the two days – but gained separation by avoiding nearly any bad holes, parring 22 times.  Hartford, playing five freshmen, shot a 299 both days and won the team championship with a 598, beating fellow CNE opponent WNE by two and Endicott College by seven.  Among other Little East Conference teams at the event, Southern Maine finished fourth (614), Eastern Connecticut State University sixth (618), and Western Connecticut State University 16th (650).  Hartford's scorers combined for 10 birdies each day.

Even still, as the Owls continue to build, they were as close to the winner as they have ever been – behind by 34 strokes.  Their previous closest finish had been 78 shots from the team champion in 2023.

On the women's side, KSC finished fifth in the ten-team field with a two-day score of 755, shooting a 384 on Saturday before improving by 13 strokes to a 371 on the second day of the event – the first time they had ever been under 400 on the Cape.  The Owls shot a combined 939 in their inaugural season and then, after not recording a team score in 2023, finished with an 824 a season ago before improving by 69 more strokes this year.

Junior Madi Mousley led the way for KSC in 11th, shooting a 174 over the two days including a two-stroke improvement on Sunday when she finished two birdies and six pars while shooting an 86.  Abby Weiterman shot a 90 and an 88 to finish right behind Mousley in 12th, also posting a pair of birdies on a warm Sunday on the Cape.  She carded a two on the par-3 fifth and then a three on the par-four 14th while adding five pars.

KSC was 25 shots from a third-place team finish, with Nichols College shooting a 363 and 367 for a two-day total of 730.  Hartford was closest to team champion Bates College at the conclusion of Saturday's action, trailing by 26 strokes (319-345) – but the Bobcats ran away with a 312 today while the Hawks shot a 367.  KSC's 371 as a team was just four shots from tying for the second-best team score in the round.  Bates won with a 631, placing all four of their scorers in the top five including individual medalist Victoria Adams (75-73-148).  Adams finished with six birdies and 20 pars, including shooting one-under on the back nine to lock up her title.

"This weekend was a great step forward for our programs," said KSC head coach Jeff Timmer.  "We achieved some team scores that were much better than our previous years at the NEIGA.  More importantly, we are having fun together and building a culture for success."

The Owl women will gear up for the first-ever Little East Conference championship this Wednesday through Friday at the Valley Country Club in Warwick, R.I., hosted by Rhode Island College.  Only two other conference members were with KSC on the Cape this weekend on the women's side, with Husson finishing with a 746 in fourth (nine strokes ahead of the Owls) and Southern Maine in seventh with an 806.

KSC's men finish the fall shooting sub-320 – often stated as a team goal in the building process – in four of their seven events.

"The men's fall season was very successful," added Timmer.  "We have a great team of guys that understand what it takes to get better and be successful.  I can't wait for the offseason and the spring to continue to get better."