March 31, 2011

Center Valley, Pa. -- Patriot League golf teams kick up their tournament action in April as they get ready for the League Championship at Naval Academy Golf Course from April 30-May 1.

Patriot League Golf Release - March

Each of the seven squads will compete in at least two more tournaments before the League Championship, with many of those featuring multiple Patriot League teams. At least three teams will play in the Yale Spring Opener (Saturday), Rutherford Intercollegiate (April 8-10) and Lafayette Spring Invitational (April 9-10), with every squad except for Army and Holy Cross set to compete in the Navy Spring Invitational on the weekend of April 16-17 at Naval Academy Golf Course.

There was limited action in February and March, with just Navy and Army competing in more than one event. The Mids finished ahead of the Black Knights at the Fireline Invitational last weekend, with senior Ben Hayes earning a second-consecutive Patriot League Golfer of the Month award by finishing in a tie for second in the field.

For more information on Patriot League Golf, read the 2011 webguide

Patriot League Golfer of the Month - March

BEN HAYES, NAVY Sr., Carmichael, Calif.
Hayes earns his second consecutive Golfer of the Month award after leading the Mids in their first two touraments in the spring. His top showing came at last weekend's Fireline Invitational, where Hayes shot a 1-over 217 (72-72-73) to place in a tie for second in the 54-hole event. Hayes was just two strokes behind the winner and led a young Navy squad to an 11th-place finish in the 17-team field that included mainly southern schools. Hayes also turned in a 10-over par 226 at the Charleston Shootout on Feb. 28-March 1 to tie for 38th. He owns a 73.83 stroke average in the spring and 73.19 over 16 rounds for the season. Hayes becomes just the fourth golfer in Patriot League history to earn a pair of Golfer of the Month awards. Navy has claimed all three honors for the 2010-11 season, with freshman David Hall earning the first award in September.

Honorable Mention

STEVE ZYCHOWSKI, HOLY CROSS So., Mendham, N.J.
Zychowski opened his spring season with a strong showing by placing fifth in the George Washington Invitational on March 18-19. He tied his season-low with a round of 70 on the first 18 holes, and shot a 220 (70-73-77) for the tournament. Zychowski's finish helped Holy Cross place fourth in the nine-team event, its best finish in three seasons.

Patriot League Notebook

Navy Picked to Win League Championship at Home
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. 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.

Patriot League Championship
The 2011 Patriot League Golf Championship will be played from April 30-May 1 at the Naval Academy Golf Course in Annapolis, Md. (pictured above) with the winner earning the League's berth to the NCAA Championship. The event should feature a packed field, with last year's individual champion Rob Robertson back at Lafayette along with three other First-Team All-Patriot League honorees. Army's Matt Philie is back after winning the Patriot League Rookie of the Year award last season. Navy's Ben Hayes (2008) and Peter Reilly (2009) also own a Rookie of the Year award, while Lafayette's Tyler Ostrovsky and Army's Matt Krembel have each received three All-Patriot League honors. Eleven of the 16 players who earned All-Patriot League recognition last year are back on the course this season.

The format is a two-day, 54-hole tournament, with 36 holes of play on Saturday and 18 holes scheduled for Sunday. The Monday following the Championship will be used as a make-up date only to finish a round of 18 holes that has been started on Saturday or Sunday, or to begin and finish a round of 18 holes if Saturday and Sunday were cancelled due to weather. If weather precludes a 54-hole tournament, the Patriot League champion will be declared based on whatever number of completed 18-hole rounds is played over a two-day period (minimum of 18 holes).

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights were the most active Patriot League team heading into the month of April, with three events already played in the spring season. Army won a dual match at Stetson, 6.5-5.5, on Feb. 5-6 before competing in the Triumph at Pauma Valley (March 13-14) and Fireline Invitational (March 26-27). Army trailed 3-1 after four-ball matches and lost the first two singles matches against Stetson, but rallied with five straight wins to go ahead and claimed the victory when David Marx came back in the final three holes to halve his match. Anthony Kim led Army at the Triumph at Pauma Valley by tying for eighth place, and tied with William Park for the team's top showing at the Fireline Invitational. Army returns to action at the Rehoboth Beach Invitational on Monday, and also plays the Rutherford Intercollegiate (April 8-10) and Rhody Invitational (April 22-23) before the Patriot League Championship.

Bucknell The Bison took part in their first event of the spring when they competed at the C & F Bank Intercollegiate on March 21-22. Bucknell improved its score by 15 strokes in round two, led by a 1-under par 71 from Ben Mattingly. Bucknell begins a busy month of April when it competes at the Wilmington Invitational on Saturday. The Bison also participate in the Rutherford Intercollegiate (April 8-10) and Navy Spring Invitational (April 16-17) before the Patriot League Championship.

Colgate The Raiders began their spring season by placing sixth out of seven teams at the Homewood Suites Invitational on March 18-19. Colgate plays in an event in each of the next three weekends, going to the Yale Spring Opener, Rutherford Intercollegiate and Navy Spring Invitational. The Raiders will then head to the Patriot League Championship after a week off.

Holy Cross The Crusaders opened the spring season with a strong showing by placing fourth of nine teams at the George Washington Invitaitonal on March 18-19. It was the best finish at the event in three seasons for Holy Cross, which was led by sophomore Steve Zychowski who came in fifth with a score of 220. Zychowski tied his season-low round with a 70 on the opening 18 holes. It was the second time Zychowski came in the top 10 this season, and third time he led the Crusaders. Holy Cross next goes to the Yale Spring Opener this weekend, and will also play at the New England Division I Championship and face Boston College ahead of the Patriot League Championship.

Lafayette The defending champion Leopards have yet to begin their spring season, as they will compete in a packed schedule in the month of April. Lafayette heads to both the Yale Spring Opener and Rehoboth Beach Invitational in the next four days, hosts its invitational on April 9-10 and plays the Navy Spring Invitational on April 16-17. The Leopards will also take part in the Monmouth Quad Match on April 14 and Peacock Invitational on April 26 as they prepare to defend their title at the end of the month.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks competed in a three-day, 54-hole event to begin the spring, and finished fifth at the St. John's Spring Fling. Lehigh was led by Duncan Zeiders, who came in a tie for ninth after shooting a 223 (73, 74, 76). Doug Marcincin also slotted in the top 20 with a 228 to tie for 19th. Lehigh improved its score on both the second and third day, finishing the tournament with a round of 298 to move into fifth place. The Mountain Hawks next go to the Lafayette Spring Invitational on April 9-10, and will also compete in the Navy Spring Invitational (April 16-17) and Lehigh Valley Collegiate (April 21) in addition to the Patriot League Championship.

Navy With the Patriot League Championship at its home course on April 30-May 1, Navy began preparations with a pair of events in the spring. After competing in the Charleston Shootout on Feb. 28-March 1, the Mids came in 11th place in a strong 17-team field at the Fireline Invitational last weekend. Ben Hayes tied for second in the field with a 1-over par 217, which included even-par rounds to open the event. Hayes had a 73.83 stroke average in the two tournaments and holds a 73.19 average in 16 rounds this year. After playing both the Rutherford Intercollegiate and Lafayette Invitational next weekend, Navy will settle in at home its spring invitational (April 16-17) and the Patriot League Championship.