Team Standings | Individual Leaderboard

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Rhode Island freshman won his first career tournament, finishing at 5-under to best the 62-player field at the Rutherford Intercollegiate Sunday.

Stennett – who shot even par for the second straight round – outplayed Long Island's Arjun Singh Bhatia down the stretch to earn medalist honors. The pair began the day tied, but Stennett had three birdies over the first 11 holes to establish a two-stroke lead.

On the 13th hole, a Stennett bogey coupled with a birdie for Singh Bhatia left the players tied. Over the next four holes, Stennett carded three pars and one bogey, while Singh Bhatia bogeyed both 14 and 16 to give Stennett a one-stroke lead heading to the final hole.

Stennett removed all doubt with a birdie on Hole 18, his 15th bird of the three-round tournament. By finishing 1-under for the day, Stennett ended the tournament minus-6 and two strokes ahead of the Longwood's Justin Larue. Singh Bhatia bogeyed the final hole to finish three strokes behind and in third place overall.

"Luke was in total control the entire time," Rhode Island head coach Gregg Burke said. "He won without making a birdie on any of the days on the easiest hole on the golf course and missed four very short putts. He dominated the field."

As a team, Rhode Island was 8-over on the day. The Rams finished plus-12 to place fourth in the team standings. Delaware

Sophomore Josiah Tong played a solid even-par round on Sunday to finish in a tie for 20th place. He was 4-over for the tournament. Freshman Tyler Bruneau (7-over) tied for 28th place, while Sean Magarian tied for 32nd place at 9-over. Rhody's fifth score came from junior Aidan O'Donovan, who tied for 45th place at plus-11.

"Hats off to Tyler and Josiah. I said yesterday and say all the time, tough guys play well late in the round, late in the tournament, and late in the season," Burke said. "Tyler was six over after seven holes but went 3-under the rest of the way without a bogey. Josiah was 2-over after three and went 1-under over the next 16 holes. Both showed temerity.

"It was a 'failure to accomplish' tournament for us, especially since we were 10-under after the first nine holes. But even with that said, I have faith on the character of our guys to work hard this week in preparation for the A10 Championship.

"Our top three golfers right now are two freshman and a sophomore so we have to prepare them for a league championship. I'm counting on the other two guys for leadership and better scoring."

Sophomore Tony Liu was part of a group of five players who tied for 14th place at 3-over par. He was entered as an individual and did not factor in URI's team score.

Rhode Island heads to Orlando for the Atlantic 10 Championship beginning Tuesday, April 22. The three-day championship runs through April 24.


Team Standings (Final)
1. Delaware – 286-281-282=849
2. Long Island – 285-285-283=853
3. Longwood – 292-282-283=857
4. Rhode Island – 281-291-291=863
5. Connecticut – 293-289-282=864
6. Penn State – 290-285-295=870
7. Western Carolina – 293-289-291=873
8. Towson – 285-302-294=881
9. Oakland – 296-301-289=886
10. Bucknell – 292-311-294=897
11. St. Bonaventure – 300-296-303=899
12. Binghamton – 305-302-304=911