May 6, 2009

Senior Anthony Gallardo (Methuen, MA) carded an 82 Wednesday for a three-day total of 236 to lead UMass Lowell to a share of 13th place at the NCAA Golf Tournament East/Atlantic Super Regional Wednesday afternoon at The Resort at Glade Springs.

UMass Lowell compiled a three-day score of 961 (318-322-321), including a 321 on Wednesday to tie with Le Moyne (317-328-316).

Indiana (PA) won the team title as it unseeded Fayetteville State with a 298 for the final round en route to a 915, three strokes better than Fayetteville’s 918. Concord University placed third with a 927, edging Fairmont State (932) and St. Thomas Aquinas (933).

The top five teams, along with the top five individual players not among those teams, advance to the NCAA Championship May 19-21 in Blaine, WA.

“This was a good experience for us,” said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Mucica. “We had two guys shoot in the 70s in each of the three rounds, but you’ve got to have four players shoot in the 70s. We just never got enough good scores to put up the numbers.”

Gallardo led the River Hawks with a 236 (76-78-82) – good for a tie for 27th place – for the tournament while sophomore Thomas Ayala (East Taunton, MA) placed in a tie for 34th with a 238 (74-85-79).

Junior Brendan Livingston (Westford, MA) placed tied for 51st with a 242 (88-77-77) and led UMass Lowell’s effort Wednesday with a five-over 77, including four birdies.

Junior Patrick Bean (Fitchburg, MA) placed in a tie for 80th with a 248 (83-82-83) while sophomore Andrew Albrecht (Georgetown, ONT) capped UMass Lowell’s effort with a 256 (85-87-84) to place tied for 98th.

“I think we’re well positioned for next year,” said Mucica. “Gallardo’s shoes are going to be hard to fill but we’ve got Ayala, Bean, Livingston and Albrecht coming back. We feel pretty good about where the program is headed.”