Middlebury, Vt. (Sept. 17, 2000)-- Missing leading scorerJohn Learson (Chelmsford, Mass.), Franklin Pierce still managed to finish in a respectable tie for 16th place in the Duke Nelson Tournament, held at Ralph Myhre Golf Course on the campus of Middlebury College.

Franklin Pierce was lead by Aaron Nackoul (Pittsfield, Mass.), who shot a two-day total of 159, good enough for a 17th place finish. Nackoul, a freshman making his first appearance of the fall, posted a second-day score of 76, tied for second in the 23-school field.

Justin Adams (Ashby, Mass.) and Tim Esposito (Brewerton, N.Y.) also had good showings, posting scores of 173, and 175 respectively.

The 16th place finish topped two of the other three NE-10 schools at the meet. St. Anselm finished three strokes behind Franklin Pierce while American International finished 50 strokes behind. Only St. Michael's finished ahead of the Ravens, posting a two-day total of 657, tierd with Green Mountain for 12th place.

Franklin Pierce returns to action this weekend, when the team travels to the NE-10 Championships at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.