Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
NCAA Regionals
Pellicani at 1-Under as Bucknell Opens NCAA Play with Solid 297
5/18/2006 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 18, 2006
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Bucknell men's golf squad, playing in the NCAA Championship as a team for the first time since 1961, opened with a solid 297 Thursday at the Omni Tucson National Resort & Spa. Senior Ben Pellicani (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) led the five-man Bison contingent with a 1-under-par 71.
Seeded 27th in the West Regional, Bucknell stands in 25th place after the first of three rounds. At +9 overall, the Bison are two shots ahead of San Diego (+11) and 17 ahead of Jackson State (+26). Houston and Western Kentucky at +6 are just ahead of the Orange and Blue.
"I think we played pretty well today, for our first day at the regionals," said head coach Jim Cotner. "I am pretty pleased. For us to get a score of around 290 is pretty good. This is the first tournament all year where we have been able to wear short sleeves and shorts. Usually, we are in our rain suits. With all the excitement, I think we stepped up to the challenge.
Bucknell benefitted from strong showings from its fourth and fifth players. No. 5 man Chas Wagner (Oakmont, Pa./Hampton), who did not compete in the Patriot League Championship but earned a spot in the NCAA lineup through a team qualifier, was even par through 14 holes before settling for a 3-over 75. Keita Aoki (Toyko, Japan/St. Mary's International School) shook off a bogey-double bogey start, shot even par the rest of the way and finished with a 75.
Pellicani struggled with a back injury during Bucknell's Patriot League championship run, but he was in strong form Thursday, posting the team's only red number. Bucknell started the day on the 10th hole, and Pellicani promptly birdied the 511-yard, par 5 10th. He made the turn at 1-over, but on his second nine he birdied holes 2, 3, 7 and 8. Only bogeys at 5 and 9 prevented a score in the 60s.
"I played pretty well, you can't be too unhappy with a 71 on a course like this, especially at regionals," said Pellicani. "Tomorrow afternoon will be a little hotter, but it was nice teeing off when the temperature was still in the 80s."
Patriot League champion Charlie Waddell (Wilmette, Ill./Lake Forest Academy), Bucknell's No. 1 player, saw a solid, consistent round stymied by a pair of double bogeys, first on the monstrous 610-yard 15th hole, then on the par-4 ninth to close the day. The trouble at the last came on the heels of two birdies, and Waddell settled for 76 in his first NCAA showing.
Bucknell's No. 3 player, Kyle Moran (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick School), struggled out of the gates and finished with an 82.
Conditions were favorable for scoring on Thursday as more than half the teams in the field finished below par, led by a scintillating 15-under 273 from top-seeded Florida. With a handful of players still on the course as of Friday evening, three Gators shared the individual lead. Matt Every, Billy Horschel and James Vargas all shot 5-under 67s, but nine players are at 4-under and a whopping 40 players are within three shots of the lead.
The two other NCAA regionals also got underway on Thursday. Oklahoma State (-4) leads the Central Regional in Cleveland, Ohio by one shot over Northwestern, and defending national champion Georgia (-4) has a slim one-shot lead over Wake Forest in the East Regional in Orlando, Fla.
Bucknell is scheduled to tee off at 3:59 p.m. EDT (12:59 in Tucson) in round two on Friday. For live scoring updates throughout the tournament, visit www.golfstat.com.
