Update from Head Men's Golf Coach Mike Binney -- September 2023
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Greetings, Bison Golf Nation!
We are just getting started for 2023-24, and our first event, our annual Bucknell Q-School, is in the books! We did something that has never been done in school history: post all qualifying rounds in the 70s with the highest score of the 54-hole event, a 77, which bodes very well for this squad. We had five rounds in red numbers, and all told, we also had the lowest scoring average for all rounds in school history.
I was super impressed by these guys’ tenacity and scoring ability, and the most impressive showing of the week came from sophomore Andres Barraza, who recorded a three-day total of (-8), with scores of 68-67-67 to set a new all-time low for qualifying. Andres played a ton of golf this summer and returned to campus ready to compete. One of the more encouraging signs of our overall team strength was a four-way tie for second place. First-years Alex Creamean and Hayden Quinn joined sophomores James Robbins and Lyman Brackett at (+5) 215 for the 54-hole event.
We head to Colgate this weekend, and the team is pumped to get after it at the Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. For the past nine years, Colgate’s head coach, Keith Tyburski, has been a good friend and mentor, but he will be traveling to Hamilton as a visiting coach for the first time since taking the head coaching gig at Yale this past summer. As fellow coaches, we will do everything we can to welcome the new coach at Colgate, JP Kircher, who comes to the program via Piedmont University.
With the graduation of four seniors last year, Jackson Bussell, Jack Gardner, Josh Holtschlag, and Blake Wisdom, we have instantly gone from an older squad to a much younger team, with six underclassmen and only three upperclassmen. It will be a new dynamic getting used to, but the guys are up for the challenge!
On a separate note, Blake is taking his COVID fifth year back in his home state of Wisconsin, where he will tee it up for the Badger Nation. Fair winds and following seas, Blake – we’ll keep up with your progress and wish you the best of success!
Max Orwicz, our only senior, will lead the Bison in his final year of competition. Max joined the squad in the COVID era and has battled the challenges associated with that each year. At times, being overshadowed by his predecessors, Max has handled his time on this squad with toughness and grace, and I look forward to a great final year. The junior class consists of Jake Maddaloni and Michael Rudnick, who will lend Max their leadership efforts as tri-captains. Michael and Jake are outstanding ball strikers who have played well over the last two years. They look to be consistent starters for the squad this year. The sophomore class has grown from three steady performers last year to four this year. Lyman Brackett is joining Andres, James Robbins, and James Key as a member of their class, having sat out a year due to NCAA eligibility rules, but he is ready to go this season.
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Our two newest members, Alex Creamean and Hayden Quinn, hail from Winnetka, Ill., and Leesburg, Va., respectively. Both were outstanding junior golfers before joining the squad this year, and I expect them to be in the mix every week of competition.
Our fall schedule is 80% the same as it has been for the last two decades, with trips to Colgate, Cornell, and Yale’s McDonald Cup in addition to our home event over fall break. The only new addition to the lineup is a unique event we are hosting at Sebonack Golf Club on the east end of Long Island in late October. Twelve teams, including Army, Navy, and the Veterans Golf Association’s national team, will tee it up on 30-31 Oct in our second iteration of the Veterans Intercollegiate. As some of you may recall, we hosted the first event in Florida at Orange County National in the spring of 2022 and hope to make this a top-notch national-caliber college golf event in the coming years.
Without reservation, the future looks bright for the 2023–24 Bison men’s golf team!
Coach
Mike Binney
Head Men's Golf Coach
Bucknell University
mwb013@bucknell.edu
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Past Newsletters:
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.
We are just getting started for 2023-24, and our first event, our annual Bucknell Q-School, is in the books! We did something that has never been done in school history: post all qualifying rounds in the 70s with the highest score of the 54-hole event, a 77, which bodes very well for this squad. We had five rounds in red numbers, and all told, we also had the lowest scoring average for all rounds in school history.
I was super impressed by these guys’ tenacity and scoring ability, and the most impressive showing of the week came from sophomore Andres Barraza, who recorded a three-day total of (-8), with scores of 68-67-67 to set a new all-time low for qualifying. Andres played a ton of golf this summer and returned to campus ready to compete. One of the more encouraging signs of our overall team strength was a four-way tie for second place. First-years Alex Creamean and Hayden Quinn joined sophomores James Robbins and Lyman Brackett at (+5) 215 for the 54-hole event.
We head to Colgate this weekend, and the team is pumped to get after it at the Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. For the past nine years, Colgate’s head coach, Keith Tyburski, has been a good friend and mentor, but he will be traveling to Hamilton as a visiting coach for the first time since taking the head coaching gig at Yale this past summer. As fellow coaches, we will do everything we can to welcome the new coach at Colgate, JP Kircher, who comes to the program via Piedmont University.
With the graduation of four seniors last year, Jackson Bussell, Jack Gardner, Josh Holtschlag, and Blake Wisdom, we have instantly gone from an older squad to a much younger team, with six underclassmen and only three upperclassmen. It will be a new dynamic getting used to, but the guys are up for the challenge!
On a separate note, Blake is taking his COVID fifth year back in his home state of Wisconsin, where he will tee it up for the Badger Nation. Fair winds and following seas, Blake – we’ll keep up with your progress and wish you the best of success!
Max Orwicz, our only senior, will lead the Bison in his final year of competition. Max joined the squad in the COVID era and has battled the challenges associated with that each year. At times, being overshadowed by his predecessors, Max has handled his time on this squad with toughness and grace, and I look forward to a great final year. The junior class consists of Jake Maddaloni and Michael Rudnick, who will lend Max their leadership efforts as tri-captains. Michael and Jake are outstanding ball strikers who have played well over the last two years. They look to be consistent starters for the squad this year. The sophomore class has grown from three steady performers last year to four this year. Lyman Brackett is joining Andres, James Robbins, and James Key as a member of their class, having sat out a year due to NCAA eligibility rules, but he is ready to go this season.
Â
Our two newest members, Alex Creamean and Hayden Quinn, hail from Winnetka, Ill., and Leesburg, Va., respectively. Both were outstanding junior golfers before joining the squad this year, and I expect them to be in the mix every week of competition.
Our fall schedule is 80% the same as it has been for the last two decades, with trips to Colgate, Cornell, and Yale’s McDonald Cup in addition to our home event over fall break. The only new addition to the lineup is a unique event we are hosting at Sebonack Golf Club on the east end of Long Island in late October. Twelve teams, including Army, Navy, and the Veterans Golf Association’s national team, will tee it up on 30-31 Oct in our second iteration of the Veterans Intercollegiate. As some of you may recall, we hosted the first event in Florida at Orange County National in the spring of 2022 and hope to make this a top-notch national-caliber college golf event in the coming years.
Without reservation, the future looks bright for the 2023–24 Bison men’s golf team!
Coach
Mike Binney
Head Men's Golf Coach
Bucknell University
mwb013@bucknell.edu
Â
Past Newsletters:
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.