Broncs Finish 4th at Princeton Invitational Behind Strong Rounds From Bekefi, Giovacchini and van der Nat

Broncs shave 24 strokes, four spots off last year's best finish in recent memory

PRINCETON, NJ – Connor Bekefi (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North), Louie Giovacchini (Windermere, FL/Windermere) and Rick van der Nat (Noordwijk, The Netherlands/Visser 't Hooft) each shot one-under 70 and the Rider University men's golf team shot two-under 282 Sunday as the Broncs climbed two spots to a fourth-place finish (850, -2) at the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club. Harvard won the tournament at 837 (-15), ahead of Yale (841, -11), Princeton (846, -6) and the Broncs.

Bekefi and Giovacchini both finished tied for 10^th for the tournament at 210 (-3), while van der Nat jumped 14 spots to a tie for 18^th Sunday. Ben Ortwein (Easton, PA/Notre Dame) shot one-over 72 Sunday and 219 (+6) to finish tied for 42^nd, while Jack Urban (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair) rounded out the Broncs' competitors with a three-over 74 Sunday for a 222 (+9, T-60^th). Zander Gibson (Concord, OH/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) also competed individually and shot six over 77 Sunday to finish the tournament at the same six over (219, T-42^nd).

QUOTES & NOTES
"Louie and Connor both had a great tournament. We played really good. We left a bunch of strokes out there, but was all-around solid golf. Looking forward to putting our final touches on our prep before Lafayette and MAAC's." – Rider Head Coach Jason Barry

- Building off an eighth-place finish at the Princeton Invitational last season, which was already the best finish in recent memory, the Broncs shaved 24 strokes and four spots off their score from 2022.
- van der Nat eagled the Par 5, 490-yard 12^th hole.
- The Broncs' -16 performance on the Par 5's for the tournament was the third-best score in the field.
- The Broncs' 50 birdies were third-most and 163 pars were fourth-most in the tournament.
- Harvard's Brian Ma won medalist honors at 204 (-9), two strokes ahead of the field.
- Harvard also won the team title at 837 (-15), four strokes ahead of Yale (841).
- The Broncs were the only MAAC program in competition, joined by seven Ivy League programs, Seton Hall and Georgetown from the Big East, Howard, Temple and Saint Joseph's.
- Bekefi played the Par 3's at one under, the best score of the tournament.
- van der Nat played the Par 5's at five under, the second-best score of the tournament.

UP NEXT
The Broncs get one final tune-up for MAAC Championships when they take part in the Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational, Sunday, April 16 and Monday, April 17 at Northampton Country Club in Easton, PA.

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