EAST HADDAM, Ct. - The Williams College men's golf team surged into first place on the third day of the NESCAC Championship and left the rest of the conference in the dust, winning by 13 strokes at Fox Hopyard Golf Club. First-year Nick Smith was the top individual in the tournament, finishing at even par over three rounds, three strokes ahead of his teammate, Jack Estrella, who earned second place.
With the victory, the Ephs qualify for the NCAA Championship, which will be held May 12-15 at Mission Resort + Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. The title was Williams' 14th in men's golf, and first since 2017.
"We have been knocking on the door all spring and something clicked at Little 3's and carried over to the NESCAC Championship," said Head Coach Josh Hillman. "Each one of the guys played great golf this weekend, we had a very solid game, committed to the plan and executed."
"Our focus this spring was to gain confidence everyday and put ourselves in the position to win every weekend and we did. That mindset helped us stay focused late into the championship."
Williams entered the NESCAC Championship in a pack of contenders, with Amherst having had the strongest season coming into the event, but with the Ephs in a group that included Tufts, Hamilton, Trinity, and Bowdoin all close together in the national rankings.
The Ephs used the first day of the three-day event to announce themselves as true contenders for the championship, as they finished Friday just two strokes off the lead at +16, while Tufts led at +14. Hamilton and Trinity were eight strokes behind Williams, and Amherst and Bowdoin were 11 strokes behind the Ephs.
Saturday's second day of the 54-hole championship saw warmer weather and better scores, and Williams and Tufts battled all day for the lead, with the two teams both shooting +4 on the day, and the Jumbos maintaining their two shot lead.
But Sunday told a different tale. Estrella and Smith both had two birdies on their first three holes, and the team was quickly 3-under par, while Tufts was 5-over par on the same opening three holes. The gap continued to widen, and as the pressure escalated late in the round, the Ephs kept their cool, shooting a 6-over par as a team, and the Jumbos ended up at 21-over in the third round. What had been a tight battle all weekend ended up looking like a comfortable win for the Ephs.
Nick Smith, a first-year from Rye, N.Y., led from wire to wire. He shot an even-par 71 on Friday, the best opening round in the field, and kept his lead on Saturday with a 1-under 70. After opening on Sunday at 2-under through three holes, he played confident golf and finished at 1-over for his final round, with 12 pars and three bogeys on the final 15 holes. He is the first individual men's golf champion for the Ephs since Will Kannegieser in 2017.
Just three strokes behind Smith was Jack Estrella, who shot a tournament best 3-under 68 on Sunday to climb the leaderboard all the way up to second place. Estrella had a +4 75 on Friday and a +2 73 on Saturday, entering the final round in sixth place. His birdies on holes 1 and 3 on Sunday put him in a great spot, but a double-bogey on 4 evened things out. From there, however, he was flawless, with three birdies and 11 pars on the final 14 holes. His 68 was the best round of any competitor all weekend.
"Nicky Smith played incredible golf all weekend," said Hillman. "To shoot even par on that course over three days is not an easy, he stay in the moment and brought home the individual title edging out Jack Estrella."
The Ephs won on the strength of all four scoring golfers, with Owen Nielsen finishing at +10 and in a tie for 5th place overall, and Alex Moller shooting a +13, tied for 11th best. Will Rich was the Ephs' fifth golfer, and played well throughout the weekend, especially on Saturday, to keep the team in solid position.
Williams will travel to Florida in two weeks for the NCAA Championship for the first time in nearly 10 years, representing the college and NESCAC on Division III's biggest stage.
