May 13, 2009
From Bucknell Athletic Communications
Bucknell Tournament Press Notes
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's golf team clinched a berth in the NCAA Regionals for the third time in the last four years by winning the Patriot League Championship, and this week the Bison are in Bowling Green, Ky., to play at The Club at Olde Stone.
The team will play a practice round on Wednesday at 9 a.m., before teeing off for real on Thursday. The 54-hole tournament continues Friday and Saturday.
Western Kentucky is the host institution for the regional, and 13 other teams will join Bucknell there. In order of seed, the teams at Bowling Green will be Washington, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, UCLA, Mississippi, East Tennessee State, Duke, Louisville, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee, Austin Peay, Cleveland State and Bucknell. Washington is ranked No. 6 nationally, while Georgia Tech is No. 7.
Those 14 teams will be joined by five individuals: Mike Van Sickle of Marquette, Sebastian MacLean of Xavier, Trey Bowling of Eastern Kentucky, Tyler Duncan of Purdue and John Montgomery of Alabama State.
This year there will be six 54-hole regional tournaments, with the top five teams and the low individual not on one of those qualifying teams advancing to the NCAA Championship May 26-30 at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. In addition to The Club at Olde Stone, other regional venues are Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, N.J., University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif., Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla., and Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
Four-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Jim Cotner will bring a Bucknell squad led by junior Andrew Cohen, who captured his first Patriot League individual title and third All-Patriot League certificate last week. Cohen was 2-under-par at the Patriot League Championship and won the title by eight shots. As a team, the Bison posted a final-round 292 to rally past Navy and Army to win at the West Point Golf Course.
Juniors Brian Bartow and Ryan Schneiter, and sophomores Ben Mattingly and Andrew Wallisch will join Cohen in the Bucknell lineup.
The Club at Olde Stone is an Arthur Hills design that features a mixture of rolling hills, tree-lined fairways, grassland and water. The par-72 course features bentgrass greens and fairways and plays to a maximum length of 7,400 yards. The venue served as host of the 2008 Junior Ryder Cup. In 2007 it was listed No. 8 on Golf Digest's "Best New Private Courses" list, and Golfweek listed The Club at Olde Stone No. 33 on its annual "Top 100 Residential Golf Courses" rankings.
Bison Storm Back to Take Patriot League Title
Bucknell's path to the Patriot League title was not an easy one. The Bison were nine strokes off the lead after the first round and four back at the start of the third and final round, but they posted a final-round 292 to score a five-shot win over runner-up Navy. Tournament host Army, the first round leader, finished seven shots back.
It was Bucknell's third Patriot League title, with the other two coming in 2006 and 2007.
Patriot League Scorecard
Patriot League team standings: 1. Bucknell (295-297-292--884), 2. Navy (287-302-300--889), 3. Army (286-302-303--891), 4. Lehigh (296-299-304-899), 5. Lafayette (299-304-308-911), 6. Colgate (310-310-303--923), 7. Holy Cross (316-314-322--952).
Bucknell individuals: 1. Andrew Cohen (71-68-69--208), T9. Brian Bartow (77-76-74--227), T11. Ben Mattingly (79-76-73--228), T18. Will Bachman (69-81-81--231), T20. Andrew Wallisch (80-77-76--233), 36. Parker Phillips (78-83-83--244).
Bucknell at the NCAAs
1957 NCAA Championship
Course: The Broadmoor G.C. (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Team Champion: Houston (602)
Bucknell Finish: 21st (648)
Bucknell Individuals: Bob Miller (80-79--159); John Dunn (80-80--160); Jim Ladd (82-79--161); Stan Jackson (82-86--168).
1961 NCAA Championship
Course: Purdue University Course (Lafayette, Ind.)
Team Champion: Purdue (584)
Bucknell Finish: 25th (640)
Bucknell Individuals: Bob Etzweiler (79-71--150), Bob Schad (80-77-157); Curt Mull (83-82--165); Jerry Singer (86-82--168).
2006 NCAA West Regional
Course: Omni Tucson National (Tucson, Ariz.)
Team Champion: Arizona (279-273-275--827), Florida (273-282-272--827)
Bucknell Finish: 26th (297-300-312--909)
Bucknell Individuals: T95. Ben Pellicani (71-73-78--222); T115. Keita Aoki (75-74-77--226); T131. Charlie Waddell (76-76-79--231); 137. Chas Wagner (75-77-85--237); 140. Kyle Moran (82-80-78--240).
2007 NCAA West Regional
Course: ASU Karsten G.C. (Tempe, Ariz.)
Team Champion: South Carolina (273-269-278-<-820)
Bucknell Finish: 26th (299-299-295--893)
Bucknell Individuals: T86. Charlie Waddell (71-73-73--217); T108. Andrew Cohen (73-78-70--221); T118. Brian Bartow (79-72-73--224); 137. Kyle Moran (76-78-79--233); 140. Keita Aoki (87-76-80--243).
INDIVIDUALS
Mike Chutz 1978 Hon. Men. All-America
Bob Etzweiler 1961
Bob Kotz 1967
Dave Maier 1972
Dave Richards 1979 Hon. Men. All-America
Frank Root 1974
Chick Wagner 1975, 1976
Rob Wagner 1979, 1981
Cohen Captures Patriot League Individual Crown
Junior Andrew Cohen continued his recent hot play with a record-setting victory at the Patriot League Championship. His 54-hole total of 208 (71-68-69) set a tournament record and was good for an eight-stroke win over Matt Krembel of Army. It was Cohen's third straight All-Patriot League performance. He also placed T-4th as a freshman in 2007 and 6th in 2008.
Back-to-Back for Cohen
Andrew Cohen's win at the Patriot League Championship was his second in as many weeks. The week before he tied for first at the Caves Valley Intercollegiate in Maryland. These are his first two career medalist performances.
In the 90 holes covering those two events, Cohen has 20 birdies and is 3-under par. He was named the Golf World Collegiate Player of the Week after his second win.
Westchester Connection
Three key members of the Bucknell junior class all come from rival high schools in Westchester County, New York, located just outside New York City. Patriot League champion Andrew Cohen is from Mamaroneck (Mamaroneck H.S.), while Brian Bartow and Jeff Pike are both natives of Rye. Bartow went to Rye Neck H.S., while Pike attended Rye H.S.
Prior to Bucknell the trio frequently squared off in high school and junior events, and now as members of the Bison they rank 1-2-3 in team scoring average.
Pike to Miss Regionals with Injury
One member of the New York trio -- Jeff Pike -- was a last-minute scratch due to a recurrence of a knee injury that has bothered him all spring. Pike was one of the league's best players in the fall. He shot 67-69 to win the Bucknell Invitational and was T-6th at the Colgate Invitational a week later en route to September Patriot League Golfer of the Month honors. Pike averaged 75.8 in the fall, but this spring he has been hobbled by the knee injury and appeared in just one tournament. After missing the Patriot League Championship, he played very well in team qualifying for the NCAA Regional and secured a lineup spot. But over the weekend the knee flared up again. Pike will be replaced in the lineup by another junior, Ryan Schneiter.
Cohen, Bartow Have NCAA Experience
Brian Bartow and Andrew Cohen are the lone Bison with NCAA experience. Both played as freshmen in the 2007 West Regional at Arizona State. Cohen shot a 2-under 70 in the final round and 221 overall to finish as the team's No. 2 man. Bartow did not play in the Patriot League Championship that year but qualified for the NCAA lineup. After an opening-round 79, he played the last 36 holes in 1-over par (72-73).
Bartow All-Patriot League
Junior Brian Bartow earned his first All-Patriot League medal with a T-9th finish at West Point G.C. Bartow improved each round, carding 77-76-74. Bartow had a terrific fall season, averaging 75.3 strokes per round while posting three top-10 finishes and five top-20s in six starts.
Mattingly Plays Key Role
Sophomore Ben Mattingly has been one of the team's most consistent players this spring. He averaged 77.9 in the spring and 77.7 overall in 2008-09. In the Patriot League Tournament he improved by three strokes each round, shooting 79-76-73. The final-round 73 was Mattingly's best of the year and was a big key in Bucknell's come-from-behind victory.
Cotner Earns Fourth Coach of Year Award
Bucknell head coach Jim Cotner earned the Patriot League Coach of the Year honor for the fourth time in the last five years. Cotner is in his eighth season as head coach of the Bison, and he has already earned the second-most Coach of the Year honors in league history, trailing only Navy's Pat Owen (7).
An Era of Success
Entering the 2003-04 season, Bucknell had not won a team tournament title since the spring of 1987, almost a 16-year drought. But in the fall of that season the Bison won their own invitational, and in the six years since then they have won 13 times, including three Patriot League championships.
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