HAMDEN, Conn. - Pierson Hester (Nashville, TN) was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Year and head coach Matthew Smith was named the conference's coach of the year as the Albertus Magnus College men's golf team finished in second place at the 2025 GNAC Championship at the New Haven Country Club.
The Falcons finished with a two-day total of 81-over par 641 (316, 325). New England College won the GNAC Championship for the third consecutive season with a 71-over par 631 (322, 309). Emmanuel finished third with an 85-over par 645 (321-324).
Hester finished third in the event and was the top rookie finisher as he ended his tournament with an 11-over par 151 after shooting a 78 on Wednesday. Hester had one birdie on the day on the fourth hole and had nine pars on the day. He was also named to the All-GNAC first team.
Hester has been medalist in three events this season, including his first ever tournament at the Albertus Fall Invitational on September 2nd.
Smith, in his second season as head coach of the Falcons led the team to to wins in the Albertus Fall Invitational and a win over Saint Joseph's College of Maine in a dual match and second place finishes at the Eastern Connecticut State University and the Mitchell College Invitational.
It is the second time in program history the Falcons have taken home both the GNAC Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year honors in the same season. In 2020-21, Robert Eichelberger took home the rookie of the year award while JR Fredette was named the top coach.
Nick Piselli (Milford, Conn.), who finished tied for ninth overall shot his second round of 11-over par 82 and was named to the All-GNAC second team. Piselli had one birdie on the day to go with 10 pars.
Andrew Buckholz (New Haven, Conn.) shot a 10-over par 80 on the day, six strokes better than in round one as he finished 26-over par. He had a birdie on the par three 12th hole. He had six pars on the day, including four on the front nine.
Senior Kyle Sikorski (Norwich, Conn.) shot an 86 with seven pars and finished 31-over par for the tournament.
Mason Sassu (Rocky Hill, Conn.) shot a 17-over par 87 in the second round with five pars. He finished 24-over par overall.
Connor Bertrand of Norwich was the individual medalist for the tournament, finishing with a seven-over par 147, including a 76 on Wednesday. He had one birdie on the final day with 11 pars. Graham Hassan of New England College finished second at nine-over par.
All-Conference + Major Awards Recipients
Major Awards
Golfer Of The Year: Cooper Bertrand, Norwich
Rookie Of The Year: Pierson Hester, Albertus Magnus
Coach Of The Year: Matthew Smith, Albertus Magnus
Institutional Sportsmanship: Emmanuel
First Team (1-5 finishers from tournament)
Cooper Bertrand, Norwich
Graham Hassan, New England College
Pierson Hester, Albertus Magnus
Emil Elias, New England College
JD Mahoney, Norwich
Second Team (6-10 finishers from tournament)
Ryan Brunet, Emmanuel
Sean Fenton, Emmanuel
Jason Curran, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Nick Piselli, Albertus Magnus
Andrew Lavoie, Emmanuel
All-Sportsmanship Team
Albertus Magnus- Pierson Hester
Dean College- Dawson DiBarri
Elms- Tyler Thomas
Emmanuel- Andrew Lavoie
Mitchell- Luke Pavia
New England College- Emil Elias
Norwich- JD Mahoney
Saint Joseph's (Maine)- Kyle Bowlan
