SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 9, 2025) – Western New England men's golf sophomore sensation Derek Johnson has been named Conference of New England men's golf Player of the Year following his efforts at this past weekend's championship event while Jeremy Burke was named Scholar Athlete of the Year and Alex Noti picked up all-conference honors and Robet DeFeo was named to the CNE Community Service Team as announced by the conference office this afternoon. 

Johnson becomes the first Golden Bear since 2019 to earn Golfer of the Year honors. The Mountain Top, Pennsylvania native shot eight strokes under par this past weekend at Tumble Brook Country Club during the Conference of New England Championship event, winning CNE Individual Medalist honors. Johnson recorded 11 birdies over 36 holes and had just five bogeys to pace his way to the top of the leaderboard. The sophomore beat out his competition by ten strokes, with the second-place finisher's shooting two strokes over par for the event. Johnson continues to shatter Western New England records, breaking the lowest score in a conference championship event by a Golden Bear while recording the lowest score over 36-holes in WNE men's golf history. Johnson was also named to the CNE All-Conference First Team for his efforts. 

Senior Jeremy Burke also received a major award for the Golden Bears this season, being named Scholar Athlete of the Year, as voted on the by nine Conference of New England head coaches. Burke, a senior computer science major, has been part of the WNE men's golf team for four seasons and competed at this past weekend's championship event, taking 25^th place out of 45 golfers. Burke is also heavily involved on the Western New England campus, being part of the honors program for computer engineering, the vice president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Club, and the secretary of the Western New England Rocketry Club. 

For his performance on the course this past weekend, WNE sophomore Alex Noti was also named to the All-Conference teams, taking All-CNE Third Team honors. Noti finished in 12^th place at the event, shooting nine strokes over par, tallying a 77 on day one of the event and a 76 on day two. The top 15 place-finishers for the 36-hole event are honored with All-Conference recognition. This is the first time in which Noti has been honored by the CNE on the All-Conference team.

Western New England team captain Robert DeFeo has been named as the team's honoree on the Conference of New England Community Service Team. DeFeo, a senior from Derry, New Hampshire,  is also heavily involved in campus activities at Western New England. Along with his duties as team captain, DeFeo is also a member of the Golden Bear Racing SAE Baja Team as well as a lab assistant for the mechanical engineering offices.  DeFeo also worked this past summer for Moveras, LLC., as an engineering intern. DeFeo joins Burke as the second member of WNE men's golf to be named to the CNE Community Service Team. 

The Western New England men's golf team came away with a third-place finish at the CNE Championships in Bloomfield, Connecticut, this past weekend. WNE has two matches slated to finish their fall season, beginning this Saturday, October 11 at the Skidmore Invitational.