Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Golf Squad Ready to Tee Off at NCAA Regionals
5/17/2006 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 17, 2006
BUCKNELL NCAA TOURNAMENT GUIDE
LIVE SCORING
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- For the first time since 1961, the Bucknell men's golf team will tee off in an NCAA Championship event on Thursday morning at 7:47 a.m. (PDT). The Patriot League champion Bison are in Tucson, Ariz., for the NCAA Regionals, and following a practice round on Wednesday, the three-day, 54-hole tournament begins on Thursday morning.
A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each of three regional sites. The Bison, coming off their first-ever Patriot League title, will play in the West Region at the Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa. Bucknell is seeded 27th in a region stacked with talented teams. Florida, Arizona State, BYU, East Tennessee State and Baylor are the top five seeds, followed by Alabama, host Arizona, San Diego State, North Carolina State and Washington.
"The guys are really excited about going to the NCAAs" said Jim Cotner, the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006. "They want to see just what is out there at the next level. It is certainly going to be a different measuring stick for us, but I really think we are going to go out there for three days and be very competitive."
If the Bison can finish in the top 10, they will advance to the national championship May 31-June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
Bucknell is one of two Patriot League teams that will be playing in the NCAA Regionals. Army, which finished second to Bucknell by two strokes at the conference tournament last month, received an at-large bid and will play in the East Regional at Lake Nona GC in Orlando, Fla.
The Bison are led by junior Charlie Waddell, who won his second straight Patriot League championship after shooting a 3-under-par 210 at the U.S. Naval Academy GC two weeks ago. A three-time all-conference performer, Waddell is averaging a solid 74.4 this spring.
Waddell and the rest of his teammates will also have a chance to advance to the finals individually, as the top two players in each region not on a top-10 team will qualify.
Senior Ben Pellicani, juniors Kyle Moran and Chas Wagner and sophomore Keita Aoki will also be in the lineup for Bucknell.
Wagner's father, Charles "Chick" Wagner `76, also played in the NCAA Championship for Bucknell in 1975 and 1976, and his uncle, Rob Wagner, played in the NCAAs in 1979 and 1981.
This is Bucknell's third appearance as a team in the NCAA Championships. Previously, Bucknell finished 21st in Colorado Springs in 1957 and 25th in Lafayette, Ind., in 1961. Additionally, Bob Kotz (1967), Dave Maier (1972), Frank Root (1974), Mike Chutz (1978), Dave Richards (1979) and the Wagner brothers competed as individuals.
Tucson National is the longtime site of the PGA Tour's Chrysler Classic, the ninth-oldest tournament on tour. The course features a challenging par-72, 7,200-yard layout.
