Men's Golf | 5/18/2017 1:12:00 PM
Somerset, N.J. – Following a strong freshman campaign, Max Palmer of the Robert Morris University men's golf team was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year, as announced by the league in a press release this afternoon.
Palmer is the program's first NEC Rookie of the Year and just the third player to earn a major award from the conference under head coach Jerry Stone's tenure, joining NEC Player of the Year recipients C.G. Mercatoris (2011) and Ryan Prokay (2015). The freshman from Novi, Mich. also was honored as an All-NEC Second Team selection, along with teammate and All-NEC Tournament Team pick Daniel Franco Saad.
In his first collegiate season on the links, Palmer led Robert Morris in stroke average at 74.7 – the sixth-lowest single-season mark in program history. He brought home three top five finishes in 10 events, highlighted by a second-place effort at the RMU Colonial Classic when he carded a two-day score of five-over 149. Palmer posted a season low score in the second round of the Bucknell Fall Invitational with a one-under 69, and added a one-under 70 at the rain-shortened Navy Fall Classic the following week. At the NEC Championships, Palmer was tied for the lowest scoring freshman with a three-day total of 229 (+13), placing him 13th.
Franco Saad, a sophomore hailing from Bogota, Colombia, paced the Colonials in rounds at or below par with six and finished second on the team in stroke average at 75.8. He was the highest finishing Colonial at the NEC Championships for the second consecutive season, finishing fifth with a three-day score of six-over 222. On Oct. 3, 2016, Franco Saad fired a career-best five-under 67 during the second round of the Cleveland State Invitational, which tied the program record for lowest score relative to par in a single round.
This is the third time in the last four seasons that RMU has had multiple players gain All-NEC plaudits.
Robert Morris finished third at the NEC Championships, its ninth consecutive season placing on the top half of the leaderboard. The Colonials lose just one senior, Michael McMorrow, to graduation.
