Moon Township, Pa.-The Robert Morris University men's golf team was selected fourth in the 2011 Northeast Conference Men's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll which was released Thursday afternoon. The Colonials finished third at last year's NEC Championship and are coming off of one of their most successful fall campaigns in recent history.
Central Connecticut State, garnering five first-place votes, is the preseason favorite. Sacred Heart was second with two first-place nods followed by Saint Francis (Pa.) who also claimed two top votes. Robert Morris was fourth followed by Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson with a first-place vote, Long Island, Mount St. Mary's, Wagner and St. Francis (N.Y.).
The Colonials are led by senior C.G. Mercatoris (Brookville, Pa. / Brookville), a two-time All-NEC selection and three-time NEC All-Tournament team member. Mercatoris won the Bucknell Men's Fall Invitational and the RMU Holiday Inn Colonial Classic this past fall and was in the top-10 of all four events that he entered. He averaged 71.7 strokes per round during the fall, one stroke over par.
Sophomore Brock Pompeani (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) cut his average from his freshman season by over 1.5 strokes to 76.5 in five fall tournaments. The sophomore ended the fall campaign by taking medalist honors and leading the team to the title at the FDU Knights Invitational.
A group of talented sophomores gives the Colonials scoring depth throughout the lineup. In addition to Brock, sophomore Brandon Pompeani (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) played every event in the fall, garnering a pair of top-10 finishes and a fourth-place showing at the FDU Knights Invitational. Sophomore Donny Lewis (Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny) also played every event in the fall, averaging a round of 78.3 and putting up top-10 showings at the RMU Holiday Inn Colonial Classic and the Knights Invitational. Classmate Max Cahn (Nyack, N.Y. / Nyack) was third at the Knights Invitational and fifth at the RMU Holiday Inn Colonial Classic, two of the three events he played in the fall.
2011 Northeast Conference Men's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll
- Central Connecticut State (5)
- Sacred Heart (2)
- Saint Francis (Pa.) (2)
- Robert Morris
- Monmouth
- Fairleigh Dickinson (1)
- Long Island
- Mount St. Mary's
- Wagner
- St. Francis (N.Y.)
First-place votes in parentheses.
