Fairfield Men, Quinnipiac Women Lead the Pack Following Second Round of 2021 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Golf Championships

Fairfield Men, Quinnipiac Women Lead the Pack Following Second Round of 2021 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Golf Championships

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – Following the completion of the second round of the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men's & Women's Golf Championships at Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course on Saturday, Fairfield University took the lead in a tightly-contested race for the men’s team championship, while Quinnipiac University built their lead heading into Sunday’s final round for the women’s team championship. Fairfield leads the men’s field with a two-day total of 578 (+2), while Quinnipiac continues to the lead the women’s leaderboard with an overall score of 600 (+24).
 
Fairfield saw a solid performance from all five golfers today, all staying within four shots of one another. Leading the round for the Stags was James Tyer, who finished with an even-par 72 score to keep himself at +4 overall. Jason Salameno, the men’s individual leader following round one, scored a two-over par 74 to wrap up the day in second place at -2 overall. Along with Salameno, two other Stags currently sit in the top-11 of the individual leaderboard: Shane DeVincenzo at a one-over par 145 and tied for ninth, and Patrick McCarthy in a tie for 11th with a two-over par 146.
 
After taking the lead in the opening round, Iona College faced a small setback today with a score of 298 (+10) to fall into second place at five-over par, 581. However, the Gaels remain three strokes away from the lead. The notable team performance of the day came from Niagara University, who finished the day with a 284 (-4) and were the only team to finish the day under par. The second-round performance propelled the Purple Eagles into the top three with a total score of 582 (+6) and position themselves just four shots behind first-place Fairfield.
 
Rider University had the second-best team performance of the day with a 291 (+3), moving up one spot into fourth place with an overall score of 585 (+9). Leading the way for the Broncs is the men’s individual leader, Austin Devereux, who had the best score of the day with a three-under par 69 to take over the lead at -4 overall.  After completing the first nine holes with a 37 (+1), Devereux went on a run with four birdies over five holes on the back nine to wrap up his round.
 
Not far behind Rider are Siena College and Monmouth University who end the day in a tie for fifth place with a total of 590 (+14). Canisius College follows closely in seventh place with a two-day score of 592 (+16). Rounding out the men’s group is Manhattan College in eighth place with a score of 627 (+51).
 
Quinnipiac improved upon their opening-round performance by eight strokes and was the only team to stay under 300 for the day. Leading the way for the Bobcats was Leeyen Peralta, whose one-under par 71 was tied for the best round of the day. Her performance moved her up into tie for second place at a three-over par 147, and will head into the final round just three shots back of the lead. Quinnipiac has a total of three players currently in the top-8 spots of the individual leaderboard with Kaylee Sakoda (+7) and Elena Ybarra (+8) joining Peralta.
 
The University at Albany remains in second place with an overall score of 614 (+38). Megan Henry made one of the biggest leaps of the day on the individual leaderboard, tying for the round high with a one-under par 71 to put her in fifth place overall (+6). Other Great Danes who saw themselves move up in the leaderboard were Katelin Richards (+13) in a tie for 15th and Madison Walker (+14) in a tie for 17th.  For both Albany and Quinnipiac, each of their five golfers currently sit within the top 20.    
 
Maria Loza of the University of Hartford wrapped up her day with a second straight round of an even-par 72 to maintain a three-shot lead over the women’s field. Loza has played her best golf of the weekend on Par 4s, scoring a -2 over two days to lead the women’s championship in that category. She is also tied for the lead in birdies with five in the first two rounds.

The University of Dayton was the biggest mover of the day on the team side, finishing with a score of 311 (+23) to jump two spots into third place with an overall score of 626 (+50). Five strokes separate third place from sixth on the leaderboard, with Hartford (+53), Fairfield (+54), and Monmouth (+55) all close behind. Rounding out the team leaderboard is Siena remaining in seventh place at +76 overall, Niagara in eighth place with a +90, and La Salle University in ninth at +123.
 
The final round of the 2021 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships tees off Sunday, April 25, at 7:30 a.m., with the women will teeing off on the first hole, and the men from the 10th. Live coverage of the final round will be broadcasted on ESPN3. For information regarding the 2021 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships, visit maacsports.com/golf.

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.