LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – Entering the 2022-23 season with all five starters from the previous year after finishing six strokes off the lead in last year's MAAC Championship, it came as little surprise when Siena Men's Golf was selected as the 2023 favorite to win the league in the 2023 MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The challenge that stood ahead when the Spring 2023 campaign began was executing and fulfilling those expectations.
The Saints completed the task at-hand Sunday afternoon, capturing the program's fifth MAAC Men's Golf Championship as the 2023 MAAC Champions at Disney's Palm Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Entering the final day of action at the 54-hole event, Siena ran away with the lead during the final 18 holes play, carding a weekend-low round of -6, 282 to finish -7, 857 (285-290-282) for the lowest 54-hole score ever recorded in MAAC Championship history and the second-lowest in Siena program history.
The Saints finished 12 strokes ahead of MAAC Runner-Up Fairfield (+5, 869) in the most dominant MAAC Men's Golf Championship performance since 2012.
All five of Siena's competing golfers shot par or better during the final round of play while combining for 17 birdies on the par-72, 6,716-yard course.
En-route to capturing its third team tournament title of the 2022-23 season and breaking a tie with Iona for the most MAAC Men's Golf titles among an active league member, the Saints boasted multiple All-MAAC finishers for the first time in four years.
Sophomore
Dan Brooks (68-73-72-213) and senior
Nolan Crowley (71-74-71) each took home their first career All-MAAC honors, with Brooks logging the second-lowest MAAC Championship 54-hole score in program history to tie for third place individually, while Crowley finished in a tie for sixth place as one of six golfers who shot even or better on the weekend.
Eighth-year head coach
Steven Jensen received MAAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year honors for the second time at the helm of the program while leading Siena to its second MAAC title under his tutelage.
"We had a solid year with three tournament wins, and you go into the MAAC Championships hoping to win, but not knowing if it's your turn to win," Jensen said. "The guys played beautifully, one through five in the lineup, and over the last two days we didn't have a score higher than bogey that counted. They believed in each other, they trusted each other, and they stayed committed to the team goals."
Freshman
Austin Giroux (78-70-71-219) and graduate student
Brody Yates (76-73-70-219) each tied for 11
th while surging up the leaderboard during the final round, while senior
Matthew Ferrari (70-80-70-220) tied for 15
th thanks to a ten-stroke improvement from round two. Overall, Siena featured all five individual golfers finishing inside the top-15 at the event for only the second time ever, joining the 2006 MAAC Champion Saints.
"There's a lot of relief and a lot of excitement, and to do it with this group of guys means the world," reflected Yates, who saw his return to the program for a fifth year pay off in a major way.
Now tied for the second-most men's MAAC titles for a Siena program among the school's nine men's programs (1991, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2023), the Saints will next head to the 2023 NCAA Regionals, marking the program's fourth NCAA Regional appearance (2006, 2007, 2016, 2023).
The 2023 NCAA Regionals will take place from Monday, May 15 – Wednesday, May 17 at six regional sites, including: Auburn, Alabama; Bath, Michigan; Las Vegas, Nevada; Morgan Hill, California; Norman, Oklahoma; and Salem, South Carolina.
Siena will find out its NCAA Regional fate during the 2023 NCAA Men's Golf Selection Show on Wednesday, May 3 at 1 PM on the Golf Channel.
