Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championship
Bucknell Golfers Enjoy Record Day, Battling Army for Patriot League Championship Lead
4/23/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 23, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell's quest for a first-ever Patriot League men's golf championship got off to a terrific, record-setting start. The Bison trail tournament favorite Army by just two shots after the first of three rounds, with the second round suspended due to a late-afternoon thunderstorm that brought lightning and heavy rain to the Bucknell Golf Club.
Sophomore Charlie Waddell shot a 3-under-par 67 in the opening round to lead Bucknell to a school-record team score of 286, which trailed only Army's 4-over 284 in the team standings. Waddell's 67 was the best in the field, and it was the lowest Patriot League Championship round ever for a Bucknell golfer. That distinction lasted only a few hours, however, as Bison sixth-man Ben Pellicani completed his second round just before the rains came and broke the overall school record and tied the championship record with a sizzling 5-under 65.
Lehigh (297), Holy Cross (298), American (299), Navy (301), Lafayette (310) and Colgate (312) round out the first-round team scoring.
Pellicani's 65 breaks the Bucknell record of 66, which had been achieved twice, both times at Bucknell. Charles "Chick" Wagner shot 66 in a dual against Juniata on May 9, 1975, and Bob Kotz did the same against Elizabethtown on Apr. 26, 1966.
Pellicani also tied the school 18-hole record in relation to par. Teammate Alex Dolle shot a 5-under 67 in winning the St. Peter's Invitational in 2004.
Army's Ryan Hazelton (1998 at Dartmouth) and Kevin Lee (2002 at Army in the PL Championship) are the only other golfers in Patriot League history to shoot 65.
Waddell's career-best round, which is now tied for the fourth-best score in school history, helped Bucknell set a team scoring record with its opening-round 286. That figure breaks the school record of 291 by a whopping five strokes. The Bison shot 291 three times, all since the fall of 2003. Their previous best round in the Patriot League Championship was 296 in 1997.
 Charlie Waddell took the first-round lead with a career-best 67 Saturday.  |
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Overshadowed by his scintillating second-round score was the very strong 71 turned in by Pellicani in the opening round. Keita Aoki, a freshman playing in his first Patriot League event, and junior Tom Lane both carded 74s to complete the record-setting team composite.
Bucknell scores not counted were Kyle Moran's 75 and Patrick Yingling's 79.
Yingling turned things around in the afternoon, shooting 73. Kyle Moran carded another 75, while Waddell, Lane and Aoki still have to complete their second rounds early Sunday morning.
Army received four scores of 72 or better in the first round, including an even-par 70 from Scott Manley. Patrick Beverly and Austin Luher both shot 71 and Pete Phipps finished in 72. Phipps shot 69 and Joseph Cave 70 to get the Black Knights off to another good start in round two.
In the first-round individual standings, Waddell has a three-shot lead over Manley and American's Adam Kolloff. Pellicani at 4-under has the individual lead in the clubhouse.
Completion of the second round will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, with the third and final round of the championship slated for an 8:45 start.
Bucknell has never won a team or individual Patriot League title since the league's inception in 1990-91.
