April 11, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's golf team is back in action this weekend at the 36-hole Lafayette Invitational. The tournament consists of 18-hole round both Saturday and Sunday at Center Valley Golf Club in Allentown, Pa.

Bison Men's Golf Notebook

About the Lafayette Invitational -
- The 25-team field features four teams from the Patriot League: Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh. The remainder of the field includes Canisius, Delaware, Drexel, Duquesne, Fairleigh Dickinson, Fordham, Hofstra, La Salle, Laval, Lehigh, Long Island, Manhattan, Monmouth, Moravian, Mount St. Mary's, Muhlenberg, Siena, St. Anselm, St. Francis (N.Y.), Saint Francis (Pa.), St. Peter's and Wagner.
- Head coach Jim Cotner's lineup this week will feature Rahul Desai, Stuart Lindgren, Andrew Cohen and Ben Mattingly.
- The last two Lafayette Invitationals have been shortened to 18 holes due to rain, and there is more foul weather in the forecast for this weekend. Last season, Bucknell finished second at this event, seven shots behind Lehigh. Charlie Waddell was the individual champion.
- Bucknell has played in this event every spring since 2002. The second-place finish last year was the team's best. The Bison were third in 2002 and fourth in 2006.
- Desai and Aoki are the only two players in this weekend's lineup who have previous experience at the Lafayette Invitational. Desai shot 75 last season. Aoki has played there three times, shooting 80 last year, 78 in 2006, and 83-77 in 2005.

About the Bison in 2008 -
- Bucknell struggled a bit last week, finishing last in a nine-team field at the Irish Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. The Bison shot 309-309. Keita Aoki shot 76-71 to finish in a tie for 23rd.
- In two prior spring tournaments, the Bison finished ninth out of 19 teams at the First Market Bank Intercollegiate at Kingsmill, and fifth in a 20-team field at the George Washington Invitational at Bear Trap Dunes in Bethany Beach, Del.
- Aoki has been the story of the spring for Bucknell. The senior finished T-6th at the Patriot League Championship last season and earned All-Patriot League honors, but he really struggled in the fall, breaking 80 only once in seven reounds. But this spring, he has shot 76 or better in all six rounds, and he leads the team with a 73.5 scoring average.
- Rahul Desai's eighth-place finish at the GW Invitational is the team's best of the spring. Desai, who broke the school record with a 72.9 average in the fall, has a 74.8 spring average. Stuart Lindgren has also continued his solid play this spring, with a 74.3 average.
- For full team stats and results, click HERE.

Looking Ahead -
- The Bison have one more tuneup prior to the 2008 Patriot League Tournament, that coming next weekend at the Navy Invitational. Bucknell will try for its third straight conference title on Apr. 26-27 at Saucon Valley Country Club.