WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University golf team will begin its bid for a sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II East/Atlantic Regional this weekend when it travels to Baldwinsville, N.Y. for the Le Moyne College Fall Preview Challenge. The 36-hole event will begin on Friday.

Coach Mickey Herron, whose arrival at Bentley coincided with the string of NCAA tournament berths, has 13 players back from last year's Northeast-10 Conference championship team, including four of the top five. Serving as captains will be seniors Malcolm Oliver (Damariscotta, Maine/Lincoln Academy) and Tom Ayres (Bolton/Nashoba Reg. HS).

Oliver has been one of the region's top golfers since debuting for the Falcons in 2012. He's improved on his stroke average annually and is coming off a junior year that saw him post a team-best 76.8 and win two tournaments, including the New Englands last fall. This summer, he tied for 13th in the Maine State Amateur.

Ayres recorded a 78.9 stroke average last year, improving on his previous season's effort by 1.3 strokes.

Brett Chatfield (Attleboro/Bishop Feehan HS) and Cal Meyers (Richfield, Wisc./Slinger HS) both had impressive freshman seasons last year with each turning in a stroke average under 79. Chatfield won the Franklin Pierce Invitational and Meyers tied for fifth on the Northeast-10 Championships.

The above four will compete in this weekend's tournament along with senior Matt Freitag (Cheshire/Hoosic Valley HS). He is coming off a junior year that saw him shoot a 79.1 over nine rounds.

Herron has bolstered his roster with the addition of five promising newcomers: Logan French (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic HS),Chris Simione (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire HS), Sam Butler (Lakeway, Texas/Lake Travis HS), Alex Baracchini (San Diego, Calif./ Torrey Pines HS) and Doug Kulikowski (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland HS). The first four were captains of their high school teams last year, and Kulikowski is coming off a gap year in which he played competitively around the nation in various junior and adult events.

Bentley will play in seven tournaments this fall, including the Northeast-10 Championships Oct. 4-5.