GLEN COVE, N.Y. – The Knights put on a respectable showing at the 2026 Shark Invitational at Nassau CC, finishing in a tie for 8th out of 15 teams. They found themselves 2nd out of the 4 NEC members they faced this week, a strong base to build on before the 2026 NEC Men's Golf Championship at the end of the month.

The freshman duo of Pietro Piccoli and Shreyas Sanmathy have been a staple for the Knights so far this semester, and this week was another example with both of them finishing on +6 in T17th, the best finish of the team.

Piccoli led the field in pars for the week with 43 out of the 54 holes. This was, in large part, due to his exceptional ball striking. He hit an outstanding 48 greens across the 3 rounds on a tough ball-striking course. He closed out in style, chipping in on his 17th hole of the day during the final round for an eagle 2 on the 316-yard par 4. If the Italian can get his putter hot for the Conference Championship, he will surely be one of the favourites.

Sanmathy once again came out hot in round 1 with a level par 70, finding himself in T4th halfway through the 36-hole opening day. He showed his class on the par 5s, playing them in -2 for the week, which was T3rd best in the field. In a change of pace for the young Englishman, the putter was the shining light this week. He'll look to rest up and reset before the boys are at it again, taking a newfound confidence in his flat stick with him.

Two Knights competing as individuals were the next best finishers for FDU: Junior William McKernan and Senior Jacob Van Dusen finished on scores of +7 (20th) and +11 (35th) respectively. McKernan only had his teammate Pietro Piccoli ahead of him this week in pars made, ending on 42. He, too, was firing from tee to green, highlighted by hitting 16 out of 18 greens during the final round on the way to a 71 (+1). Van Dusen's peak came in the 2nd round with a 69 (-1). An outing featuring 2 birdies, 1 bogey and 15 pars came together to form Van Dusen's first-ever under-par collegiate round.

A special moment in the final round also occurred for Senior Kaung Kyaw. A hole-in-one on the 133-yard 3rd hole was the first of his lifetime. This helped him along to a closing round of 72 (+2).

Pietro Piccoli: 72, 73, 71 (+6, T17th)

Shreyas Sanmathy: 70, 73, 73 (+6, T17th)

William McKernan*: 75, 71, 71 (+7, 20th)

Jacob Van Dusen*: 77, 69, 75 (+11, 35th)

Kaung Kyaw: 73, 79, 72 (+14, 46th)

Ricardo Velasquez: 78, 72, 76 (+16, 55th)

Ranveer Dhupia: 72, 76, 80 (+18, 63rd)

* = Competed as an individual.

The biggest 3 days of the season will be next for the boys in burgundy and blue. The NEC Men's Golf Championship will be the culmination of their hard work over the past months,

taking place at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Maryland, from the 24th to the 26th of April.