Kramarski wins 2015 MAAC Title
Freshman Kevin Kramarski poses with Rider Director of Athletics Don Harnum (left) and MAAC Senior Associate Commissioner Barbara Church (right) after winning the 2015 MAAC Championship.
May 6, 2015
Iona College golf freshman Kevin Kramarski stole the show at the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship April 24-26 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. He claimed the individual championship on a one-hole playoff.
After scoring a 74 and a 73 in the first two rounds, Kramarski exploded for three birdies and 15 pars in the final round, forcing a playoff with Nicholas Dilio from Saint Peter’s.
Kramarski won the playoff hole by one stroke to claim the MAAC crown and the McLeod Memorial Award.
“I was pretty nervous,” Kramarski said. “I’ve played in a lot of tournaments before, but I was probably most nervous during this one. I’m glad that the nerves didn’t get to me too much.”
Kramarski is the first Gael to win the award since Doug Hoppe won it in 2010. Kramarski’s final score for the tournament was an even par 216. His third round score of 69 was the second highest score recorded from the three days.
He staged a furious comeback at the tournament. After round one, he was in 10th in the individual standings, and then moved up to seventh overall by the end of round two.
As a team, Iona finished with a total score of 894, and came in second to Saint Peter’s, who totaled an overall score of 885.
The Gaels finished the first round in third place, and then climbed up to second place by the end of the next round. They maintained that placing for the rest of the tournament.
Senior Evan DeLuca was the next best performer for Iona, finishing fifth overall at 221 (+5).
In addition to winning the MAAC Championship, Kramarski was named the 2015 MAAC Rookie of the Year.
Five different Gaels were recognized as part of the MAAC All-Academic Team. Graduate students Taylor Bellemare and Robert Winters, DeLuca and fellow senior Tom McHugh, and sophomore Stefan Cygan all achieved cumulative grade point averages of at least a 3.20.
Iona and Fairfield led the MAAC with five players being named to the conference’s All-Academic Team.
Iona is done for the year, but Kramarski is not. He was selected to participate in the 2015 NCAA’s Golf Regional at Yale May 14-16
