Led by the efforts of Patriot League Championship MVP Erich Schoen and Patriot League Rookie of the Year Ben Hayes, the Navy golf team won the program’s fifth Patriot League Championship title Apil 27 at the Saucon Valley Country Club, outdistancing the field by 17 strokes. Additionally three Midshipmen garnered All-Patriot League kudos for finishing among the field’s top 10, while Navy’s Pat Owen was voted the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
''Our team worked extremely hard this year and I couldn’t be happier for them,'' said Owen, who led the Mids to Patriot League titles in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003 and ’08. ''It starts with the tremendous leadership our three seniors - Chris Renninger, Erich Schoen and Ryan Sload - have shown throughout not only this season but their careers. They’ve been great mentors to some of our younger players and they’ve shown great character in leading the way this weekend.''
The Midshipmen, who owned a 7-stroke lead heading into April 27 final round, increased their lead by turning in the low round of the day, a 19-over par 307 to finish the tournament with a 61-over par 925 (311-307-307). Navy turned in the low score in the first and third rounds, while Bucknell tried to challenge the Mids by posting a 15-over par 303 in the second round. The Bison, however, were unable to compete with the Mids as they shot a 29-over par 317 in the final round to finish the 54-hole event in second with a 78-over par 942 (322-303-317). The host Mountain Hawks of Lehigh topped Holy Cross in the final round by two strokes to take third (960, +96), followed by Holy Cross (962, +98), Colgate (965, +101), Army (969, +105) and Lafayette (978, +114).
Schoen won the Patriot League individual crown by coming from behind to beat out Colgate’s Ricky Hayes. Hayes held a 1-stroke advantage over Schoen through two rounds, but the Navy senior turned in a 3-over par 75 on April 27 to edge Hayes by two strokes and become the sixth different Navy player to win the individual title. Schoen (74-74-75=23, +7) is the Mids’ first individual champion since Billy Hurley paced the field with his 223 at the Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y. in 2004.
By virtue of its win, Navy has earned an automatic bid to play in one of the three NCAA regionals held May 15-17. In the current regional format, Navy has made five previous NCAA Tournament regional appearances (1962, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003), four under Owen’s leadership.
The NCAA will announce the field for its three regionals on May 5. The Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. will be the site of the East Regional, while the Central Regional will be played in Columbus, Ohio and the West Regional in Bremerton, Wash. The 10 top teams from each regional advanced to the NCAA finals which are May 28 - 31 in West Lafayette, Ind.
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