Men's Golf Returns to Saucon Valley for 2024 Patriot League Championship

Setting the Scene
What: 2024 Patriot League Championship
When: Friday-Sunday, Apr. 26-28 (9 a.m. tee times)
Where: Par-72, 7091-yard Saucon Valley Country Club, Bethlehem, Pa.
The Field: 8 teams (Bucknell, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola, Navy)

Live Stats: GolfStat.com

About the Bison

Bucknell has appeared in 10 events dating back to the first week in September in preparation for the 2024 Patriot League Championship. The time has come, as the Bison are headed to Bethlehem, Pa., and Saucon Valley Country Club for this week's championship, with an NCAA Regional berth on the line.
This will be one of Bucknell's younger championship squads in recent memory, as the six-man team will consist of sophomore Andres Barraza, freshman Alex Creamean, sophomore James Robbins, sophomore James Key, junior Michael Rudnick, and freshman Hayden Quinn. That sixsome has combined to play in a total of only four Patriot League Championships, with two appearances for Rudnick and one each for Barraza and Key.
As a team, Bucknell has averaged 294.2 this spring and 293.3 for the full season. The low mark was a second-round 281 at the Loyola Invitational at Palm Valley GC in Arizona on Feb. 26.
Bucknell is coming off a ninth-place finish at the Highland Meadows Intercollegiate, hosted by Bowling Green, on Apr. 15-16. Barraza shot 68-73-69 for a 3-under total of 210, which was good for a T-7th finish. Barraza earned Patriot League Golfer of the Week honors after that performance.
Barraza has been Bucknell's hottest player this spring. He has broken par in seven of his last 12 rounds, and he is a combined 11-under in those 12 rounds. Earlier in the spring, he finished a school-record 10-under in a sixth-place finish at the Loyola Invitational, and he followed that up with a T-6th performance at the Bash at the Beach in Myrtle Beach.
Barraza leads the team with a 72.1 spring average and his 73.1 full-season mark ranks No. 2 behind Creamean's 72.6.
Creamean has enjoyed an outstanding freshman season for the Bison. The highlights of his campaign are a win at the Veterans Intercollegiate at Sebonack GC in October, and a school-record 64 in the second round at the Loyola Invitational. That was part of an incredible stretch where Creamean shot under par in 9 of 12 rounds.
Other full-season averages for this week's lineup include 74.9 for Rudnick, 75.0 for Robbins, 75.0 for Key, and 75.8 for Quinn.

The Patriot League Championship

This is the 33rd Patriot Championship. Bucknell has won the event three times (2006, 2007, 2009).
The team champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. The individual medalist also earns a spot if he is not already a member of the winning team.
Loyola hosted the championship for the first time last season, and the Bison finished fifth at Hillendale Country Club. Blake Wisdom was the low Bison in T-12th with rounds of 78-77-76. Among returning players, James Key finished T-16th (76-79-76), Andres Barraza finished 22nd (83-74-76), and Michael Rudnick finished T-33rd (86-73-80).
Rudnick has an All-Patriot League medal in his portfolio. He finished T-6th at Steel Club as a freshman in 2022, shooting 76-71-74.
This is the sixth time Lehigh has served as tournament host at Saucon Valley Country Club. The Bison were runner-up there in 2018 and also finished third in 1996, fifth in 2003, fourth in 2013, and fifth in 2018.
Scores have historically been on the high side on the challenging Saucon Valley track. Bucknell's best team total in a Patriot League Championship at Saucon was 296 in 2018. The low individual score was a 72 from Schuyler Stitzer in the first round in 2013. Stitzer went on to finish T-4th that year.

Bucknell's Patriot League Tournament History
1991
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Army (311-326--637)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (332-344--676)
Bucknell Individuals: T7. Don Hansen (83-82--165); 9. Glen Hertzberg (80-86--166); 20. Dave Fries (87-88--175); T24. Doug Dollenberg (84-94--178); T24. Mike Smigie (85-93--178); T34. Chris Curti (99-88--187).

1992
Course: West Point (N.Y.) G.C.
Team Champion: Army (290-295-291--896)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (316-308-322--946)
Bucknell Individuals: T14. Don Hansen (76-75-80--231); T14. Doug Dollenberg (76-75-80--231); T18. Dave Fries (81-73-83--237); T34. Marc Shaffer (84-90-79--253); T36. Jim Foard (83-88-85--256); 38. Chris Curti (86-85-86--257).

1993
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Army (312-322-306--940)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (330-313-329--972)
Bucknell Individuals: 6. Doug Dollenberg (79-76-81--236); T12. Dave Fries (83-78-83--244); T14. Paul Gregory (87-76-82--245); T23. Jeff Graf (84-87-83--254); 27. Drew Smith (92-83-84--259); T28. Marc Shaffer (84-88-88--260).

1994
Course: Bucknell G.C. (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Team Champion: Army (307-312-319--938)
Bucknell Finish: 3rd (311-322-328--961)
Bucknell Individuals: 2. Doug Dollenberg (76-78-80--234); 14. Jeff Graf (78-85-81--244); T15. Paul Gregory (78-79-88--245); T19. Don Hansen (79-80-89--248); T32. Tommy Martin (83-89-91--263); T40. Mark McGinly (90-101-79--270).

1994 (Championship Moved to Fall Season)
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Army (309-299-322--930)
Bucknell Finish: 3rd (302-315-328--945)
Bucknell Individuals: 6. Jeff Graf (76-76-82--234); T11. Josh Hartman (73-79-88--240); T11. Eric Shortz (75-83-82--240); T15. Paul Gregory (78-77-87--242); 18. Marc Shaffer (78-84-82--244); T28. Tommy Martin (88-88-82--258).

1995
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Army (309-300-302--911)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (329-317-321--967)
Bucknell Individuals: 13. Jeff Graf (77-83-76--236); T20. Josh Hartman (81-78-85--244); T22. Bryan Sun (86-77-83--246); T30. Tony Calandra (90-81-80--251); 33. Jim Ofria (85-86-84--255); 34. Eric Shortz (94-81-82--257).

1996
Course: Saucon Valley G.C. (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Team Champion: Lehigh (318-310-307--935)
Bucknell Finish: 3rd (322-314-318--954)
Bucknell Individuals: 4. Josh Hartman (81-79-75--235); T5. Bryan Sun (77-77-82--236); Todd Schneider (84-76-83--243); Mark McGinly (80-85-80--245); Eric Shortz (87-82-81--250); Tony Calandra (87-82-83--252).

1997
Course: West Point (N.Y.) G.C.
Team Champion: Lehigh (297-299-300--896)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (316-296-305--917)
Bucknell Individuals: T6. Josh Hartman (80-70-74--224); 12. Todd Schneider (78-75-75--228); T19. Tony Calandra (80-77-77--234); T19. Ken Kosteva (81-74-79--234); T30. Mark Rylak (82-78-81--241); 40. Brad Borman (78-86-89--253).

1998
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Navy (302-294-298--894)
Bucknell Finish: T3rd (315-309-303--927)
Bucknell Individuals: 6. Todd Schneider (77-75-75--227); T16. Tony Calandra (83-75-76--234); T18. Ken Kosteva (77-82-76--235); 23. Tom Marks (84-78-76--238); 30. Mark Rylak (78-81-85--244); 33. Nick Leibowitz (87-82-80--249).

2000 (Championship Moved Back to Spring Season)
Course: Bucknell G.C. (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Team Champion: Navy (305-307-299--911)
Bucknell Finish: 2nd (299-305-310--914)
Bucknell Individuals: 2. Ken Kosteva (74-72-74--220); 11. Jimmy Freeman (76-78-76--230); 19. David Horton (81-74-83--238); T33. Nick Perini (85-81-85--251); 37. L.J. Petroni (85-86-86--257); Nick Leibowitz (68-DQ-77--DQ).

2001
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Navy (298-298-293--889)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (299-317-301--917)
Bucknell Individuals: 5. Jimmy Freeman (75-77-70--222); T9. Nick Leibowitz (74-79-77--230); T12. Ken Kosteva (74-82-75--231); T23. Charles Markey (76-80-81--237); T25. Scott Leeder (78-81-79--238); 38. David Horton (85-83-83--251).

2002
Course: West Point (N.Y.) G.C.
Team Champion: Army (271-292-284--847)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (300-306-301--907)
Bucknell Individuals: T11. Abbie Valentine (71-74-77--222); T11. Scott Leeder (73-80-69--222); T22. Nick Leibowitz (77-76-77--230); T28. Dan Gale (79-76-79--234); 42. Charles Markey (85-86-78--249); 45. Alex Dolle (82-82-89--253).

2003
Course: Saucon Valley G.C. (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Team Champion: Navy (297-290-291--878)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (319-310-309--938)
Bucknell Individuals: T8. Tom Lane (79-75-74--228); T11. Abbie Valentine (74-82-74--230); T17. Alex Dolle (78-74-83--235); 33. Ben Pellicani (90-79-79--248); 40. Chris Martinez (89-85-82--256); T45. Brian Troast (88-89-88--265).

2004
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Army (320-302-308--930)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (319-311-316--946)
Bucknell Individuals: 6. Charlie Waddell (80-78-75--233); 12. Tom Lane (81-78-78--237); T13. Ben Pellicani (79-79-80--238); T13. Patrick Yingling (79-76-83--238); T28. Abbie Valentine (83-80-84--247); T36. Alex Dolle (86-84-84--254).

2005
Course: Bucknell G.C. (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Team Champion: Army (284-283-293--860)
Bucknell Finish: 2nd (286-282-299--867)
Bucknell Individuals: 1. Charlie Waddell (67-71-71--209); 2. Ben Pellicani (71-65-74--210); T16. Keita Aoki (74-73-79--226); T16. Kyle Moran (75-75-76--226); T30. Tom Lane (74-79-78--231); T30. Patrick Yingling (79-73-79--231).

2006
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Bucknell (299-298-299--896)
Bucknell Individuals: 1. Charlie Waddell (69-70-71--210); 11. Ben Pellicani (77-76-78--231); T12. Kyle Moran (77-76-80--233); T20. Rahul Desai (76-79-80--235); T22. Patrick Yingling (87-76-73--236); T29. Keita Aoki (85-80-77--242).

2007
Course: Bucknell G.C. (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Team Champion: Bucknell (291-297-295--883)
Bucknell Individuals: 3. Charlie Waddell (74-73-68--215); T4. Andrew Cohen (72-74-74--220); T6. Keita Aoki (73-76-73--222); T19. Rahul Desai (72-76-80--228); T30. Kyle Moran (75-74-83--232); T32. Stuart Lindgren (76-77-80--233).

2008
Course: Saucon Valley C.C. (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Team Champion: Navy (311-307-307--925)
Bucknell Finish: 2nd (322-303-317--942)
Bucknell Individuals: 4. Rahul Desai (79-74-78--231); 6. Andrew Cohen (80-73-82--235); 16. Stuart Lindgren (82-80-80--242); T17. Ben Mattingly (81-81-81--243); T17. Brian Bartow (89-76-78--243); 19. Keita Aoki (83-80-81--252).

2009
Course: West Point (N.Y.) G.C.
Team Champion: Bucknell (295-297-292--884)
Bucknell Individuals: 1. Andrew Cohen (71-68-69--208); T9. Brian Bartow (77-76-74--227); T11. Ben Mattingly (79-76-73--228); T18. Will Bachman (69-81-81--231); T20. Andrew Wallisch (80-77-76--233); 36. Parker Phillips (78-83-83--244).

2010
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Lafayette (303-295-304--902)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (308-302-307)
Bucknell Individuals: T10. Andrew Cohen (77-77-75--229); Ryan Schneiter (74-78-77--229); T17. Brian Bartow (79-73-78--230); T28. Ben Mattingly (80-79-77--236); 30. Will Bachman (78-76-85--239); 31. Jeff Pike (81-76-83--240).

2011
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Army (293-287-290--870)
Bucknell Finish: T5th (300-305-295--900)
Bucknell Individuals: T13. Schuyler Stitzer (75-76-72--223); 16. Jon Hartman (75-78-72--225); T17. Will Bachman (73-73-80--226); T22. Parker Phillips (77-79-74--230); T26. Ben Mattingly (77-78-77--232); T35. Dan Bernard (79-82-78-- 239).

2012
Course: Bucknell G.C. (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Team Champion: Navy (288-290-300--878)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (293-293-306--892)
Bucknell Individuals: 2. Peter Scialabba (69-72-76--217); T16. Dan Bernard (74-70-83--227); T19. Schuyler Stitzer (75-76-77--228); T19. J.J. Szmadzinski (79-75-74--228); T32. Jon Hartman (75-83-79--237); T39. Will Bachman (77-85-79--241).

2013
Course: Saucon Valley C.C. (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Team Champion: Lehigh (299-296-303--898)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (307-312-310--925)
Bucknell Individuals: T4. Schuyler Stitzer (72-77-77--226); 16. Dan Bernard (76-79-79--234); T18. Zach Pogust (82-81-74--237); T18. Billy Wright (80-77-80--237); T30. Peter Scialabba (79-81-85--245); T32. Thomas Walter (81-79-86--246).

2014
Course: West Point G.C. (West Point, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Loyola (287-283-291--861)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (306-299-297--902)
Bucknell Individuals: T11. Schuyler Stitzer (75-72-75--222); T21. Peter Scialabba (75-74-80--229); 24. John Edler (77-82-72--231); T27. Zach Pogust (79-75-79--233); T36. D.J. Magee (84-80-74--238); T36. Thomas Walter (84-78-76--238).

2015
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Loyola (287-281-294--862)
Bucknell Finish: 7th (311-305-313--929)
Bucknell Individuals: T20. John Edler (77-76-77--230); T20. Peter Scialabba (77-76-77--230); T22. Daniel Levin (80-74-77--231); T37. D.J. Magee(77-79-83--239); 44. C.J. Zachary (82-82-82--246); 45. Zachary Melnick (85-82-82--249).

2016
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Army (284-284-282--850)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (300-290-305--895)
Bucknell Individuals: T2. J.P. Raftery (71-67-73--211); T17. Jubal Early (76-74-76--226); T21. Conor O'Brien (76-72-81--229); 32. John Edler (77-78-79--234); T33. Daniel Levin (77-81-77--235); T39. D.J. Magee (80-77-81--238).

2017
Course: Bucknell G.C. (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Team Champion: Loyola (280-274-281--835)
Bucknell Finish: 3rd (276-285-284--845)
Bucknell Individuals: 2. J.P. Raftery (67-68-69--204); T7. Jubal Early (67-73-72--212); T13. D.J. Magee (70-73-71--214); T26. Peter Bradbeer (74-71-75--220); T31. John Edler (78-73-72--223); T31. Connor O'Brien (72-79-72--223).

2018
Course: Saucon Valley C.C. (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Team Champion: Navy (290-308-297--895)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (296-307-306--908)
Bucknell Individuals: T6. Peter Bradbeer (69-81-74--224), 9. J.P. Raftery (75- 74-78--227), T10. Connor O'Brien (75-77-76--228), T33. Chris Tanabe (80-79-77- -236), T35. Jubal Early (77-77-83--237), 48. Ashton Radvansky (86-87-80--253).

2019
Course: Seven Oaks G.C. (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Team Champion: Army (302-285-278--865)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (300-286-293--879)
Bucknell Individuals: T7. Chris Tanabe (74-72-73--219), T13. Connor O'Brien (77-71-73--221), T17. J.P. Raftery (78-69-75--222), T20. Jason Lohwater (76-75-72--223), T28. Peter Bradbeer (74-74-78--226), T39. Jubal Early (76-74-81--231).

2020
Course: Hollywood G.C. (Deal, N.J.)
Team Champion: Tournament canceled due to COVID-19

2021
Course: U.S. Naval Academy G.C. (Annapolis, Md.)
Team Champion: Loyola (288-288-290--865)
Bucknell Finish: 4th (300-311-304—915)
Bucknell Individuals: T11. Blake Wisdom (76-73-75--224); T13. Chris Tanabe (76-80-70--226); T27. Jackson Bussell (72-83-80--235); T33. Jason Lohwater (80-78-79--237); T33. Josh Holtschlag (76-81-80--237); 39. Jack Gardner (82- 80-80--242).

2022
Course: Steel Club (Hellertown, Pa.)
Team Champion: Loyola (294-290-285--869)
Bucknell Finish: 7th (311-298-290--899)
Bucknell Individuals: T6. Jackson Bussell (80-73-68--221); T6. Michael Rudnick (76-71-74--221); T35. Blake Wisdom (80-76-75--231); T39. Jason Lohwater (76-78-79--233); T42. Josh Holtschlag (80-79-75--234); 45. Jack Gardner (7983-73--235).

2023
Course: Hillendale C.C. (Phoenix, Md.)
Team Champion: Lehigh (307-291-296--894)
Bucknell Finish: 5th (315-299-305--919)
Bucknell Individuals: T12. Blake Wisdom (78-77-76--230); T16. James Key (76-79-76--231); 22. Andres Barraza (83-74-76--233); T26. Jack Gardner (7975-81--235); T33. Jackson Bussell (82-79-78--239); T33. Michael Rudnick (86-73-80--239).

BUCKNELL PL TOURNAMENT RECORDS
Team Individual
Low Any 18 276 (2017) 65 (Ben Pellicani, 2005)
Low First 36 561 (2017) 135 (J.P. Raftery, 2017)
Low 54 845 (2017) 204 (J.P. Raftery, 2017)
Best Finish 1st ('06, '07, '09) 1st (Charlie Waddell, 2005, 2006)
1st (Andrew Cohen, 2009)

Men's Golf Returns to Saucon Valley for 2024 Patriot League Championship

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andres Barraza

Peter Bradbeer

Jackson Bussell

Alex Creamean

Jubal Early

Jubal Early

John Edler

Jack Gardner

Josh Holtschlag

James Key

Daniel Levin

Jason Lohwater

D.J. Magee

Zachary Melnick

Connor O'Brien

Connor O'Brien

Hayden Quinn

Ashton Radvansky

J.P. Raftery

J.P. Raftery

James Robbins

Michael Rudnick

Michael Rudnick

Chris Tanabe

Blake Wisdom

C.J. Zachary

Men's Golf Returns to Saucon Valley for 2024 Patriot League Championship

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andres Barraza

Peter Bradbeer

Jackson Bussell

Alex Creamean

Jubal Early

Jubal Early

John Edler

Jack Gardner

Josh Holtschlag

James Key

Daniel Levin

Jason Lohwater

D.J. Magee

Zachary Melnick

Connor O'Brien

Connor O'Brien

Hayden Quinn

Ashton Radvansky

J.P. Raftery

J.P. Raftery

James Robbins

Michael Rudnick

Michael Rudnick

Chris Tanabe

Blake Wisdom

C.J. Zachary

Related Videos