Sept. 28, 2004

Hanover, NH - If freshman Patrick Fillian's effort over this weekend at the Dartmouth Invitational is a sign of things to come, NCAA Division I golf in the Northeast should keep an eye on the smooth swinging eighteen year old from Tinton Falls, NJ. His effort of 69/74 was good for third overall at the Invite, only trailing Matt Burroughs from the University of Hartford and Chris Woo from Harvard. The +1 for the combined rounds was the best by any of the Northeast Conference schools in attendance and has given his young, bright college start 9th and 3rd place finishes respectively.

"I was playing to win, but happy with the results." Fillian said. "I left a number of shots out on the course day two, and surprisingly on day one as well. But overall, I'm pretty happy with my play and looking forward to our next tournament."

The Pioneers came out firing at the pins on day one, shooting a solid 309 which put them in a tie with Harvard for fifth. Day two yielded different results for the Pioneers, who featured two seniors, a sophomore, and two freshmen in the lineup. The day one 309 was followed up with a 330 in day two. A result which dropped the men to ninth place.

Freshman Tommy Campbell continues to strike the ball well, posting a tie for 22nd, with a 79 and 77.

"Obviously we are very pleased with the performance of our freshmen, especially that of Patrick Fillian." Director of Pioneer Golf / Men's Head Coach Michael Giaquinto said. "Pat has had an immediate impact on our program as reflected in our day one performance...the consistency with this group will come in time as we keep our eyes on May 2nd and 3rd (NEC Conference Championship)."

Filling out the remainder of the roster for the weekend was Mike Giaquinto, Kevin Gordon, and Rob Thurston. "Although the team was not pleased with their performance, they know that the hard work that they are putting in will pay dividends...the rest of the team is getting use to performing at a higher level...they have the ability and their improvement will come in time."

Pioneer golf is back in action October 15th and 16th at the Hofstra Invitational.