Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Bucknell Invitational
Bucknell Men's Golf Wins Home Tournament for Fourth Straight Year
9/18/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 18, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bison men's golf team captured its fourth straight Bucknell Fall Invitational title by the narrowest of margins on Saturday, coming from behind to defeat 36-hole leader Robert Morris by a single stroke to win the title. Will Bachman (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley), J.J. Szmadzinski (Northville, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) and Dan Bernard (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) all shot 221 for the "Orange" team over the two-day, 54-hole event.
While the team's sixth win in this event in the last eight years was the headline of the day, individually the top story was another terrific round for sophomore Jon Hartman (Essex Fells, N.J./Seton Hall Prep), who played for the four-man "Blue" squad. After opening with a 77, Hartman posted the low score in the field in round two with a 2-under-par 68. In Sunday's final round he again led the field with a 69. Playing the final 36 holes in 3-under, Hartman shot 214 for the tournament and was runner-up to Robert Morris' C.G. Mercatoris, who finished at 311.
The "Orange" team shot 293-295 on Friday but entered the final round trailing Robert Morris by four strokes. Despite much more pleasant weather conditions on Saturday, scoring went up across the field, and Bucknell's final-round 300 was good enough for a one-shot win over the Colonials, who finished with a 305.
The Bison recorded a 54-hole total of 888, followed by Robert Morris at 889, Fordham (894), Lehigh (896), Laval (896), Colgate (898), St. Peter's (904), Lafayette (904), Loyola (906), Fairleigh Dickinson (907), Bucknell "Blue" (912), Ottawa (924) and Messiah (933).
Bachman, Szmadzinski and Bernard all finished in a tie for ninth place. Bernard and Szmadzinski, both sophomores, shot 74 on Saturday, while Bachman finished with a 75 for his second straight top-10 finish to start the year. Also for the "Orange" team, Ben Mattingly (Fishers, Ind./Park Tudor) finished with a 77 after rounds of 74-76 on Friday, while Andrew Wallisch (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) posted a final-round 80 after opening with 75-74.
The "Blue" team, comprised of the sophomore Hartman and three freshmen all making their collegiate debuts, shot 299 on Saturday, the third-best score of the day behind only Loyola (293) and Lehigh (296). Schuyler Stitzer (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick School) finished with a 76, and he tied for 16th place with a 224 total. Former high school teammates Matt Haller and Billy Wright (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) both closed with 77s.
For the Bison the team victory was their 16th in the last eight seasons. The team will be back in action next Saturday and Sunday at the Cornell Invitational.
