JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's University men's golf team, three-time champions of the Metropolitan Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), was predicted to finish in third place in this year's tournament, as revealed in today's 2021 MAAC Preseason Men's Golf Coaches' Poll.
The Peacocks, who were runners-up in the 2019 championship by just seven strokes, trailed only Iona and Rider in the nine-team field. Saint Peter's is shooting for its fourth league title and first since the 2017 campaign that saw them edge Siena by three strokes for the championship.
One of four schools to earn a first-place vote in the poll while garnering 59 total points, Saint Peter's was positioned 15 points behind 2019 champion Iona, who led the way with 74 points and five first-place votes. Rider -- who the Peacocks edged by a single stroke in that tournament -- was a close second with two first-place votes (70 points), while Siena accounted for the other first-place vote and was a close fourth (54).
Canisius (44 points) rounded out the top-five teams in the poll, followed by Fairfield (40), Monmouth (26), Manhattan (20) and Niagara (18).
Highlighted by the return of the 2019 MAAC individual champion, senior
Jeffrey Peters, the Peacocks bring back a veteran core that saw them them place sixth place or higher in four of their five tournaments that they competed in during the fall of 2019 before the spring 2020 circuit was canceled due to the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic. Junior
Melvin Morales was one of the two Peacock medalists during that fall slate, while redshirt sophomores
Caleb Rossi and
Jimmy Apostolico were regulars in the lineup, as well. Peters led the team in overall scoring average (73.89) while the Peacocks, as a whole, averaged an 11-over-par four-player team score through the five events played in fall of 2019. Freshman
Adam Varela will make his collegiate debut this spring, as well.
Saint Peter's opens the 2020-21 season when it hosts the Peacock Invitational on March 15 at Fox Hollow Golf Club.
