WARWICK, R.I. – Six months after winning the inaugural Little East Conference Men's Golf Championship, Eastern Connecticut State University proved that it is still the team to beat in the LEC as the Warriors finished ahead of the three other conference teams by placing fifth overall in a 12-team field at the Rhode Island College Springfield Invitational Friday  at Valley Country Club.
 
Four of Eastern's five individual participants in last fall's LEC Championships at Rutland, VT returned to compete Friday, with graduate transfer Jack Wallace (Winthrop, MA) joining holdovers Andrew Gromko (Canterbury), a junior, sophomores Jonah Dupuis (Hampton), Ashton Lewis (Fairfield), and first-year player Chris Davidson (New Milford) Friday in the 59-person field.
 
LEC Championships medalist Lewis led Eastern by sharing third place with a four-over-par 76, with Wallace sharing 18^th place (+9), Gromko finishing 21^st (+10), Dupuis tied for 22^nd (+11) and Davidson tied for 26^th (+13).
 
From the Little East, host Rhode Island College and the University of Southern Maine followed Eastern (+34) by sharing sixth place (+51), with Western Connecticut 12^th (+94).
 
The competition was the first official one for Eastern since it closed out the fall season Oct. 19 against Western Connecticut State University at Richter Park Golf Course in Danbury.
 
The 12-team field included six programs which competed in last fall's NEIGA Championships at Brewster, when the Warriors placed seventh in a 16-team field.
 
Westfield State University (+28), which did not compete at NEIGA, won the team title Friday by trimming Salem State University (+29) and Springfield College (+29), two teams which shared third place at NEIGA last October. Roger Williamsd, ninth at NEGA, was fourth (+30), just ahead of Eastern (+34), which was seventh at NEIGA last fall. Lewis shared 11^th place as Eastern's top finisher at NEIGA last year.
 
Eastern closes out the spring season May 1 by hosting the Thread City Invitational at The Windham Club at noon.