TOWNSEND, Mass. (September 19, 2022) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's golf team showcased its potential on Monday, as the team rallied from a 12-shot deficit to record a three-stroke victory in its home tournament, the Franklin Pierce Invitational. The Ravens had two players under par on their way to a one-under team round of 279 at the par-70, 6184-yard Northern Spy Golf Club. Senior Michael Sosik (Fiskdale, Mass.) had the round of the tournament, with a second-round 65 (-5), on his way to a tied-second finish in the 84-golfer field.

For the Ravens, the 279 marked a 19-stroke improvement over Sunday's 298 (+18), which was good enough to leapfrog three other teams to claim the title atop a 16-team field. The two-round total of 577 (+17) was good for a three-shot victory over second-place Assumption, at 294-286--580 (+20). Round-one leader Southern New Hampshire was nine shots worse on Monday and took third at 286-295--581 (+21).

It was Franklin Pierce's first tournament victory since claiming the Penmen Invitational title at SNHU in April of 2019. Thanks in part to the par-70 layout, the 279 is believed to be the lowest round by pure stroke number in program history.

On the individual front, Sosik was eight shots better from the first round to the second round and turned in the first sub-70 round of his collegiate career, to jump up eight spots into a two-way tie for second at 73-65--138 (-2). His was one of 10 under-par rounds on Monday, as Northern Spy played to a stroke average of 77.29, nearly 2.5 shots easier than Sunday's play.

Among his fellow Ravens, Sosik was joined under par by junior Thomas Hickey (Moultonborough, N.H.), who improved by eight shots to move 16 spots up the leaderboard and finish solo-12^th at 76-68--144 (+4). The tournament marked career-best 36-hole scores for both Sosik and Hickey.

Meanwhile, freshman Seth Saffell (Castro Valley, Calif.) narrowly missed a top-20 finish, as he was tied-21^st at 76-72--148 (+8). All five members of the Franklin Pierce lineup would crack the top 40, as sophomore Peter Wurszt (Wilbraham, Mass.) was tied-31^st at 73-79--152 (+12), and junior Jake Berkio (Ashburnham, Mass.) was tied-36^th at 79-74--153 (+13).

On the individual front, Dominican (N.Y.) junior Alejandro Gomez Cervantes was the lone golfer to post two under-par rounds and held on for a two-shot victory at 67-69--136 (-4). Sosik finished tied second with Felician freshman Pablo Hidalgo, who had shared the first-round lead and finished at 67-71--138 (-2). Five players finished under par for the tournament, with a sixth at even-par.

Franklin Pierce also had four players competing as individuals this week. Freshman Riley Richards (East Montpelier, Vt.) finished tied-44^th at 80-76--156 (+16), senior Jack Hogan (Westfield, Mass.) was tied-53^rd at 81-79--160 (+20), sophomore Jack Paterson (Franklin, Mass.) finished tied-59^th at 85-77--162 (+22), and sophomore Vetchayung Khumnirdpayak (Pathum Thani, Thailand) was solo-72^nd at 89-79--168 (+28).

The Ravens are back in action next week for the Penmen Invitational, hosted by SNHU on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 26-27, at Beaver Meadow Golf Club in Concord, N.H.