A singular postseason crown was not enough for the Bison, who returned to the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship last month and captured first place for the second time at the River Golf Course of Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Bison competed at the par-71 course from April 23 to April 26, where they shared one goal as a team: to become champions once again.
Throughout the tournament, the golfers erased a seven-stroke deficit in the final round and overcame a gap that grew to 11 strokes.
The Bison’s journey to winning back-to-back titles began after the 2024 NEC Championship where they secured their first NEC title. At this four-day tournament in Pine Mountain, Georgia, the team led from start to finish with record-setting performances, shooting 5-under par (859) in 54 holes including 10-over par (298) in the final round.
“We did something that pretty much everybody didn’t think could be done,” said Sam Puryear, the director of golf. “We shocked the world.”
The team’s standout first-place victory for the 2024-2025 season came at the NEC Championship. Puryear said showing perseverance and being adaptable prepared the Bison for their championship run.
Throughout the tournament, the Bison shot 8-over par (860), including a 289 (+3) on the final day of the tournament, according to HU Bison Athletics.
Sophomore Artises (Bear) Huff led the Bison’s comeback with a performance of 1-under par (70) on Saturday, including five birdies. Huff recorded 6-over par (219) in 54 holes and finished 10th place.
Fifth-year Marcus Smith Jr. and sophomore Mathis Perroni tied for fourth place on the individual leaderboard after capturing nine birdies combined on Saturday.
Huff, Smith Jr., Perroni and freshman Cassie Blake were named to the All-Tournament Team for their performance at the tournament.
In the first 36 holes, Long Island University (LIU) was in the lead but shot 15-over par (298) on the final day of the tournament, finishing second place (862 +10) to the Bison.
Fairleigh Dickinson University’s (FDU) golfer Pyae Phyo Thu won the 2025 NEC Individual title with 206 (-7), only five strokes separating him and the two golfers that tied for runner-up: Marcelo Mexsen from LIU and Owen Corby from Le Moyne College.
As Huff, a computer information systems major from Riverside, California, reflected on the tournament, he described the feeling of winning back-to-back NEC titles as a young team considered to be “underdogs” as “amazing.”
“It just shows that we’re meant to be here. We’re meant to win and we have a championship team,” said Huff.
The Bison secured a number 13 seed in the NCAA Regionals from May 12-14, where they will compete to earn team and individual titles at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
