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Bison Golfers Headed Back to Arizona for NCAA Regionals
May 7, 2007 LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the second year in a row, the Bucknell men's golf team will be traveling to the Southwest for the NCAA Championship. On Monday the Patriot League champion Bison were assigned to the West Regional at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz., May 17-19. Last season Bucknell celebrated a league championship with its first NCAA team appearance since 1961 in Tucson. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each of three regional sites. Bucknell is seeded 26th in a West Region stacked with some of the nation's best college golf programs, including nine Pac-10 teams along with traditional powers such as Wake Forest and UNLV. Stanford, UCLA, UNLV, Southern California and East Tennessee State are the top five seeds in the West. The only other Eastern programs headed to Tempe are Ivy League champion Penn (No. 24) and Northeast Conference winner Monmouth (No. 27), two teams Bucknell often sees in regular-season events. "The guys are extremely excited to be headed back to Arizona for the NCAAs," said Jim Cotner, the Patriot League Coach of the Year in each of the last three seasons. "The exposure is tremendous for the program, and our players are always excited to travel and test themselves against the best players in the country. One thing we know for sure is that the weather will be good. Playing out there last year was a good preparation for the weather. We know what the desert heat will feel like." If the Bison can finish in the top 10, they will advance to the national championship May 30-June 2 at the Gold Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va. Bucknell will be led by senior Charlie Waddell, who finished third at the Patriot League Championship earlier this spring after winning it 2005 and 2006. Waddell, a four-time All-Patriot League selection, has finished in the top 10 in eight of his 12 tournaments in 2006-07, including a pair of victories. It was his 2-under-par 68 in the final round of the Patriot League Championship that propelled the Bison to their second straight title. Freshman Andrew Cohen, who finished fourth at the Patriot League Championship and was named the league's Co-Rookie of the Year, and sixth-place finisher Keita Aoki will join Waddell in Bucknell's NCAA lineup. The rest of Cotner's travel team will be announced later in the week. Last season, Bucknell finished 26th in the West Region with rounds of 298, 300 and 312 at Omni Tucson National GC. Arizona and Florida tied for the team title, shooting 37-under-par over 54 holes. Elsewhere, Georgia is the top seed in the East Regional at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, while Alabama is seeded No. 1 in the Central Regional, hosted by Northern Illinois at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The ASU Karsten Golf Course is a classic Pete Dye links-style course set in the shadows of ASU's Sun Devil Stadium. Awarded four stars by the Golf Digest Rating Panel, the challenging design features Dye's signature mounding and creative bunkering. The par-72 layout measures 7,057 yards. Admission is free, with practice rounds beginning Wednesday, May 16 at 7 a.m. Live tournament scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com. Complete results and recaps will be posted at www.BucknellBison.com and www.ncaasports.com. EAST REGIONAL- May 17-19 Teams (seeded in the following order): Individuals: CENTRAL REGIONAL-May 17-19 Teams (seeded in the following order): Individuals: WEST REGIONAL-May 17-19 Teams (seeded in the following order): Individuals:
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