Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Golf in Search of Third Straight Patriot League Crown
4/25/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 25, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's golf team has a "three-peat" on its mind this weekend as it travels to Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem for the Patriot League Championship. The Bison will play a practice round on Friday, then tee it up for 36 holes Saturday and 18 on Sunday. A third straight NCAA appearance is also on the line.
Bucknell won its very first Patriot League title at Navy in 2006, then backed it up by winning another championship on its home course last spring. The last team to win three straight men's golf titles was Navy from 1998-2001.
The Bison have moved along nicely following the graduation of Charlie Waddell, perhaps the best player in school history who was a four-time All-Patriot Leaguer and a two-time conference champion. Waddell was the team's clear No. 1 player on each of the last two title-winning teams, but now others have stepped from the shadows -- three seniors in particular -- and Bucknell has remained among the top teams in the Northeast.
In 2007-08 the Bison have won two tournaments, including one just two weeks ago at Lafayette, and they have finished in the top five eight times in 12 events.
Seniors Rahul Desai (Avon, Conn./Kingswood-Oxford) and Stuart Lindgren (Richfield, Minn./Richfield) are two of the program's most improved players, and both are in the midst of outstanding senior campaigns.
In the fall, Desai broke Waddell's single-season scoring average record with a 72.9 stroke average. He finished third or better in five of his six fall appearances, and he had another top-10 in Bethany Beach in March. Coming into the season, Desai's career average was 76.2.
Lindgren picked his his first career individual win at the Bucknell Invitational in the spring, and his 74.6 season average is a career best by almost five strokes.
The team's third senior, Keita Aoki (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International School), tied for sixth at last year's Patriot League Championship to earn all-conference honors for the first time. He struggled badly in the fall, however, making the lineup in only three tournaments and breaking 80 in only one of his seven rounds. Aoki has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround this spring, however. His 73.6 spring average is not just the best on the team, but it is the best of his career. He is coming off a 74-72 showing at the Navy Invitational last week, where he tied for seventh place.
Bucknell has another returning All-Patriot Leaguer in the lineup this weekend in sophomore Andrew Cohen (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck). Cohen, who was also the 2007 Patriot League Co-Rookie of the Year, has a 76.2 average in 2007-08, with his best finish a tie for second at the Scotty Duncan Memorial in October.
Also in the lineup for three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Jim Cotner is sophomore Brian Bartow (Rye, N.Y./Rye Neck) and freshman Ben Mattingly (Fishers, Ind./Park Tudor), both of whom will be making their PL Championship debuts. Bartow did qualify for the team's NCAA West Regional lineup last season and shot 79-72-73, but he has struggled a bit this spring after a solid fall. Mattingly has enjoyed a terrific rookie season, averaging 75.3.
Bucknell, which was picked as the preseason favorite among the league's head coaches and sports information directors, will be trying to join Army and Navy as the only teams in league history to win three straight men's golf titles.
This will be the third time that Saucon Valley has played host to the Patriot League Championship. Lehigh won the team title there in 1996, while Navy won the crown in 2003. Bucknell was third there in 1996 and fifth in 2003.
The teams will be playing from the black tees at the Grace Course, a par-72 layout measuring 7,051 yards.
Links of Note:
Patriot\ League\ Championship\ Preview
Championship Tee Times
Saucon Valley Country Club, Grace Course
