North Attleboro, Mass. – The Adelphi University men's golf team swept the Northeast 10 major awards, as Francis Lanuza was named Player of the Year, Zeus Sara earned Rookie of the Year and head coach David Mattana was selected as Coach of the Year, announced by the conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Lanuza's Player of the Year campaign featured two individual victories and three runner-up finishes. The senior's first win came at the Adelphi Panther Invitational to close out the fall season, where he shot a five-over-par tournament highlighted by a score of two-under in round two. His second victory came at the Charger Challenge, where he finished even-par over two rounds of play.
Sara burst onto the scene following a top-five finish at the George Cangero Invitational to begin the year and later captured an individual victory at the Saint Anselm Florida Invitational where Sara carded a five-under-par tournament score, including a 68 in round one. He also registered a third-place finish at the Penmen Season Finale, shooting five-under through two rounds.
Mattana led the Panthers to five team victories this season, while guiding the squad to the No. 1 seed in the East Region.
Joining Lanuza as All-Conference First Team selections were Mitchell Archer and Johnny Solari.
Solari also posted two individual victories while adding three top-five finishes. The senior set a career-best seven-under-par performance during his victory at the Granite State Opener, highlighted by his second round. His other first-place finish came at the Saint Anselm Florida Invitational, where he shot five-under-par.
Archer, coming off an incredible freshman season in which he earned both NE10 Player and Rookie of the Year honors, recorded four top-five finishes this season. The sophomore secured an individual victory at the Penmen Season Finale, shooting nine-under-par across 36 holes, highlighted by a 67 in round two. Both marks were career bests for a single round and a 36-hole tournament.
Freshman Ike Rothman joined Sara on the All-Conference Second Team.
Rothman recorded three top-five finishes during the season, with his best result coming at the Penmen Season Finale, where he shot four-under-par to finish tied for fourth place. The rookie also posted Adelphi's top finish at the Super Regional, tying for 16th after shooting six-over-par for the tournament.
The final All-Conference selection, for Adelphi was freshman Ahaan Dhir, who earned Third Team honors following a strong season. Dhir tallied three top-15 finishes, including a tie for sixth place at the Saint Anselm Florida Invitational, where he shot one-over-par for the tournament, highlighted by a 70 in round one.
Mattana and the Panthers fell just short of the cut at this year's NCAA Super Regional and will now look ahead to next season in hopes of another regional appearance.
