Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championship
Bucknell Men's Golf Rallies to Win 2009 Patriot League Title!
4/26/2009 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 26, 2009
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Andrew Cohen (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) shot a 1-under 69 to help the Bucknell men's golf team rally to win the 2009 Patriot League Men's Golf Championship, which wrapped up Sunday at the West Point Golf Club. Cohen was 2-under for the tournament and won medalist honors for the first time in his career, while the Bison team closed with a round of 292 to make up a 4-stroke deficit at the start of the day and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years.
This win was especially gratifying for the Bison and head coach Jim Cotner, who garnered his fourth Patriot League Coach of the Year honor. Even though it was narrowly picked as the preseason favorite to claim the title, Bucknell had struggled a bit in the spring and entered the league tournament without a key upperclassmen who was battling a knee injury and swing issues. Then the Bison fell behind by nine strokes after the first round and four at the end of the second, and on Sunday they had to pass both host Army and Navy to garner the first-place trophy.
Cohen was coming off his first career win a week earlier at the Caves Valley Intercollegiate, and he made it two with a record-setting performance at West Point. Cohen posted scores of 71-68-69 on the par-70 course, and his 54-hole total of 208 shattered the league record by one stroke. Four players had previously posted a 209, also on par-70 courses. Former Bison Charlie Waddell had one of those 209s at the Bucknell Golf Club in 2005, and Waddell shot a 3-under 210 at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course in 2006.
Cohen is Bucknell's third Patriot League medalist, joining Waddell, who won in back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006. Cohen won this one fairly convincingly, as he outpaced runner-up Matt Krembel of Army by eight shots. Cohen also finished sixth in 2008 and tied for fourth as a freshman in 2007, making him a three-time All-Patriot League honoree.
Fellow junior Brian Bartow (Rye, N.Y./Rye Neck) also earned All-Patriot League honors. Bartow drew a second-team citation after finishing tied for ninth place with scores of 77-76-74. Sophomore Ben Mattingly just missed an all-league citation after finishing tied for 11th with rounds of 79-76-73.
The Bison shot 295 in the first round on Saturday, but host Army posted a 286 and Navy was right behind at 287. Down by nine, Bucknell made up considerable ground in Saturday's afternoon round. The Bison put up a 297, while Army and Navy both shot 302. Then on Sunday, Bucknell posted its best number of the weekend with a 292, while again the two service academies failed to break 300. The Midshipmen shot an even 300 to pass the Black Knights (303) for second. Lehigh was also in contention, just eight strokes back at the start of the day, but the Mountain Hawks finished with a 304.
All told, Bucknell compiled a 54-hole score of 884, followed by Navy (889), Army (891), Lehigh (899), Lafayette (911), Colgate (923) and Holy Cross (952).
Also contributing to the championship for Bucknell was freshman Will Bachman (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and sophomores Andrew Wallisch (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and Parker Phillips (Laguna Beach, Calif./St. Margaret's Episcopal).
Bachman opened with a stellar 1-under 69, then finished with a pair of 81s to finish tied for 18th at 231. Wallisch shot 80-77-76 and placed T-20th, while Phillips shot 78-83-83 and was 36th.
All six Bucknell players had at least one of his scores counted during the weekend.
This year's NCAA Regionals will be held May 14-16 at six sites: Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, N.J., the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif., Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla., The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky., and Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
The NCAA Finals will be May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The fields for each of the six Regionals will be announced on May 4. Thirty teams and six additional individuals will qualify for the Finals.
