Bucknell University Athletics
Younger Bucknell Men's Golf Team Opens 2010-11 Season at Colgate this Weekend
9/10/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 10, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- For the Bucknell men's golf team in 2010-11, many of the faces will change, but the expectations remain the same. After graduating four supremely talented players, including one of the top performers in program history in Andrew Cohen, 10th-year head coach Jim Cotner will send out one of his youngest teams this year. Just don't expect him to use that relative inexperience as an excuse.
"I am not expecting us to take a step backwards," said Cotner, whose team won two tournaments and finished second in six others last season. "This is not a rebuilding year. Our overall skill level is as good as we've had here. We have the ingredients to be really good, but our success depends a great deal on our work ethic and course management. Those have been the staples of our program, and it's going to be up to our two seniors to pass that down to the younger guys."
The new-look Bison receive their first test this weekend when they tee it up at the Colgate Invitational at Seven Oaks GC. Bucknell has enjoyed recent success in this event, finishing in the top three in each of the last six years, including wins in 2004 and 2006. Last fall the Bison placed second at Colgate, finishing just one stroke behind the host Raiders.
The aforementioned seniors, Ben Mattingly and Andrew Wallisch, have experienced quite a bit of success in their careers, but for the first time they are being asked to be the true leaders of the program. Both will be in the lineup this weekend at Colgate.
This is a Bison program that has experienced a renaissance under Cotner - three Patriot League championships, nine team tournament wins and 14 individual titles over the last six years. That success has been rooted not only in extremely talented players, but in guys who have taken pride in working diligently at their games throughout the week, playing strategically and intelligently on the weekends, and all the while balancing their golf with academics.
Cotner's most successful players, stalwarts like Abbie Valentine and Charlie Waddell, have excelled in each of those areas while passing those lessons on to the younger players. Last year's terrific senior class of Cohen, Brian Bartow, Jeff Pike and Ryan Schneiter - all of them won a Patriot League Golfer of the Month Award at least once - is the latest example. Now Cotner is looking to Mattingly and Wallisch.
"I am depending on Ben and Andrew for experience, because we are going to be young," said Cotner. "Both of them came back to campus ready to play. Their games seem to be in great shape. Just as important, those two were under the tutelage of a great senior class last year, guys who took care of that leadership responsibility. So the bar is set pretty high for them. Both have NCAA Tournament experience, and both have expectations to get back there as seniors."
Mattingly has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career and certainly has the ability to go low. He was runner-up at the Bucknell Invitational (one shot behind teammate Cohen) last fall after posting rounds of 72-68-71, and he posted a 76.4 scoring average over the entire season. Wallisch won the team's preseason 90-hole qualifier. His second-round 66 helped him to a third-place finish at the team's home event last season, and he averaged 76.5 for the year.
The lone junior on the team is Will Bachman, who may have turned the corner with an outstanding 2010 spring season. Bachman, who finished second behind Wallisch at the team's 90-hole qualifier, finished in the top 10 in three of his four spring appearances, headed by a tie for fifth at the Navy Invitational. He averaged 76.4 in the spring and 77.5 for the full campaign.
"Will came back in really good physical shape," said Cotner. "He's gotten much stronger and as a result is hitting the ball farther. His short game has always been very good. He has a great touch around the greens and is an excellent putter."
The Bison return three sophomores who were successfully phased into the college game a year ago. Of the three, J.J. Szmadzinski had the lowest scoring average, a 76.0 mark in four tournament appearances. All eight of his rounds were in the 70s, and he finished T-3rd in Bucknell's win at the St. Peter's Invitational.
"I am expecting big things this year from J.J.," offered Cotner. "He had a really good summer playing in a lot of tournaments in Michigan, and he had a solid qualifier here. The key for him is to control his emotions on the golf course. When he is in control he is a real solid player. He has worked hard on improving his shot-making and controlling his ball flight."
Dan Bernard played in five tournaments as a freshman last year and recorded a 77.7 average. His top finish was 13th at the Navy Invitational, where he posted an even-par 72 in the final round. Cotner thinks this could be a breakout year for Bernard, whose sister Lauren is a promising first-year player for the Bucknell women's golf team.
"Dan had a great summer," said Cotner. "He played extremely well in a lot of tournaments in the Philadelphia area and won the club championship at the famed Aronimink Golf Club. Dan could be one of the stronger sophomores that we've had if he maintains that level."
The third member of the sophomore class, Jon Hartman, is coming back after missing the spring season due to a shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery. Hartman was back on the course this summer playing a busy schedule and will now try to play his way back into the Bison lineup.
"If Jon can develop some consistency in his scoring, he should be a real strong player for us," said Cotner.
The Bison are anxious to get a first-hand look at a promising freshman class. The most credentialed of the newcomers is Greenwich, Conn., native Schuyler Stitzer. In addition to winning club championships at both Eagles Mere and Round Hill, Stitzer made it all the way to the final of the Metropolitan Junior Match Play Championship this summer, where he lost 2&1 to Penn State's top recruit, Michael Miller.
"Schuyler had a great qualifier here in his first taste of collegiate competition," said Cotner. "His ball-striking is excellent and he has a very good short game. Schuyler has a great junior background and is coming off a terrific summer. The Met Championship is one of the most prestigious tournaments around, and he beat some very good competition there."
Bobby Wright and Matt Haller were teammates and all-conference players at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill., and now both will be Bison starting this fall.
"Both Bobby and Matt have shown very good attitudes so far in learning our practice routines, and it appears that they will both fit in very comfortably with this group," said Cotner. "With some added experience they should be good contributors to the team."
In a sport where an entire season boils down to one championship weekend, experience in pressure situations is paramount, and that still might not guarantee success. In fact, despite boasting one of the best four-man senior classes in recent program history, the Bison struggled at last year's Patriot League Championship and finished fifth after winning three of the previous four titles.
Cotner insists that his team has not spent much energy dwelling on that championship disappointment. Instead, they are focusing on the details that will be needed to get back to the top.
"Andrew Wallisch and Ben Mattingly are going to have to step up both from a playing and leadership standpoint," reiterated Cotner. "They are going to have to work with the younger guys so they understand the level of competition that we are going to see, prepare them for the golf courses we are going to play, and help them adjust academically and socially."
If the fine-tuning is successful, this young Bison core could soon have its own championship story to write.
