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Navy Picked to Win Patriot League Golf Championship
March 22, 2011 Patriot League Golf composite schedule Center Valley, Pa. - Navy will host the Patriot League Golf Championship in Annapolis from April 30-May 1, and the League's coaches and sports information directors predict success on the home course as the Mids were tabbed the favorite to win the title on Tuesday. Navy ran away with the top spot in the poll voting, taking home 69 points and 10 first-place votes. Defending champion Lafayette was next with 53 points and a first-place vote, while Army and Bucknell tied for third with 49 points and took home one and two first-place votes, respectively. Lehigh (39), Colgate (22) and Holy Cross (13) rounded out the rankings. Head coaches and golf sports information directors from each of the seven schools voted in the poll, and could not vote for their own team. The Mids, who last won the Patriot League title in 2008, have more going for them than just the advantage of hosting the Championship at Naval Academy Golf Course. Senior Ben Hayes and junior Peter Reilly are both former Patriot League Rookie of the Year recipients that earned second-team All-Patriot League honors with a top-10 finish at last year's Championship. Hayes and freshman David Hall won the Patriot League Golfer of the Month awards in the fall. Navy has fared well at its home course, including a fourth-place finish at the Fall Classic in September and taking first place at last spring's invitational. Lafayette was picked just sixth in last year's poll before winning its first League title, but the Leopards will come in with preseason expectations this time around. Rob Robertson was named Patriot League Player of the Year for winning last season's individual title, while Tyler Ostrovsky earned a third-straight All-Patriot League honor by finishing in a tie for sixth. Lafayette enjoyed a strong fall that included fourth-place finishes at both the Cornell and Rutgers Invitationals. Army will be under the direction of first-year Head Coach Brian Watts, who spent the past nine seasons as the boss at Oregon State. Watts inherits a solid lineup that includes senior Matt Krembel, who has earned All-Patriot League recognition in each of his three previous years. Matt Philie returns after placing third at last year's Championship to earn the Patriot League Rookie of the Year award. The Black Knights have already played two events this spring, including a dual match win over Stetson. Bucknell has the most to replace from last year, as a group of standouts that included four-time All-Patriot League selection Andrew Cohen has graduated. However, the program with three of the last five Patriot League titles showed well in the fall by winning its invitational in September. Lehigh placed second at last year's League Championship, and has an experienced lineup with three players that have earned All-Patriot League honors. Doug Marcincin and Dwight D'lorio finished in the top 10 last year to earn second-team recognition, while Duncan Zeiders placed seventh at the 2009 League Championship. Lehigh opened up its spring season with a fifth-place finish at the Mission Invitational from March 12-13. Keith Tyburski enters his first full season as head coach at Colgate, and the Raiders got off to a fast start in the fall by winning their invitational to open the season in September. The Raiders opened the spring season by placing sixth at the Homewood Suites Invitational over the weekend. Holy Cross is picked to finish in seventh place, but boasts one of the top golfers in the Patriot League in Steve Zychowski. The sophomore placed in a tie for fourth at last year's League Championship to earn first-team All-Patriot League honors, then qualified to play in the 2010 United States Amateur Championship over the summer. The Crusaders are not a one-man show, either, as Mike McCarthy earned second-team All-Patriot League honors last year. Holy Cross opened the spring with a fourth-place finish at the George Washington Invitational last weekend. The spring schedule has already started throughout the Patriot League, with the teams set for the 54-hole Patriot League Golf Championship at Naval Academy Golf Course on April 30-May 1. Multiple events will be played with more than one Patriot League team in the field, including Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh joining the host in Annapolis for the Navy Spring Invitational two weeks before the Patriot League Championship. For the full 2010-11 Patriot League Golf schedule, click here The 2010-11 Patriot League Golf record book is included here Patriot League Golf Championship Poll
1. Navy, 69 points (10 first-place votes)
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