FINAL RESULTS
BirdieFire Scoring
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Loyola Maryland men’s golf team shot a 1-over par 281 during Sunday’s final round action to claim the 2017 Patriot League Men’s Golf Championship at the Bucknell Golf Club. The Greyhounds finished with a team score of 5-under par 835 for their third championship since joining the League for the 2013-14 season. The victory clinches the League’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regional Championships for the Greyhounds, their third in four years and first since 2015.
Greyhounds Head Coach Chris Baloga was named Patriot League Coach of the Year for the third time, leading his squad to the championship with four players in the top-10. Senior Connor Flach finished third with a 2-under par 208 to earn All-Patriot League honors for the third-consecutive year, while making first team for the first time. Senior Will Wears finished fourth at 1-under par 209 to earn his First Team All-Patriot League, along with sophomore Erick Alonso, who tied for fifth-place at 1-over par 211, to earn First Team All-Patriot League. Junior Brendan Peel finished tied for seventh-place at 2-over par 212 to earn Second Team All-Patriot League.
Army West Point senior Peter Kim is the 2017 Patriot League Golfer of the Year, after earning the individual medal shooting a 1-under par 69 on the final day. He finished the 54-hole tournament at 10-under par 200 to earn his second-career golfer of the year honor and an automatic berth into the NCAA Regional Championship. Kim’s Black Knights finished second overall, after slipping back with a 6-over par 286 team score during the final round. Army West Point finished with an even-par 840, five strokes behind the Greyhounds. Dean Sakata, the 2016 Player of the Year finished tied for 11th with a 3-over par 213.
Host Bucknell finished with a 5-over par 845 to finish third overall, while sophomore JP Raftery, the 2016 Rookie of the Year, finished second individually at 6-under par 204 to earn First Team All-Patriot League honors. Sophomore Jubal Early earned Second Team All-Patriot League with a 2-over par 212 to tie for seventh-place.
Navy finished in fourth-place with a team score of 15-over par 855. The Mids were led by a pair of Second Team All-Patriot League selections, with sophomores Matthew Starobin (2-over par, 212) and Griffin Peters (2-over par, 212), who finished tied for seventh.
Lehigh freshman Ryan Kelly tied for fifth-place, shooting a 1-over par 211 for the tournament to earn 2017 Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors. This is the second time a Lehigh golfer has earned rookie of the year honors since the League began issuing the award in 2005. Kelly was 2-under par 68 during the third round to lead the Mountain Hawks finished to an even-par 280 during the final day of the championship, the best team score of the day. Lehigh finished fifth overall at 19-over par 859.
Lafayette finished sixth with a team score of 26-over par 866. Freshman Will Halamandaris and junior James Frahm finished tied for 21st with a 7-over par 217.
Colgate finished seventh overall with a team score of 30-over par 870, led by junior Armando Olivieri III and freshman Alejo Soto’s 6-over par 216 finishes. Olivieri and Soto tied for 18th.
Holy Cross rounded out the field in eight-place with a team score of 57-over par 897. Sophomore Jake Peer and freshman Jack Katarincic tied for 31st-place at 13-over par 223.
NOTES: There were two hole-in-one during the final day of play at the Patriot League Championship, with Navy’s Matthew Starobin getting an ace on hole No. 13. Lehigh sophomore Johnny Hsu had a hole-in-one on No. 16. This is the second-consecutive year that the Patriot League Men’s Golf Championship has featured two hole-in-one on the same day. Last season, Navy’s Thomas Fricke and Colgate’s Ryan Allison accomplished the feat on the first day of the championship at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course. Prior to 2016 there had only been one hole-in-one in Patriot League Men’s Golf Championship history, with Army West Point’s Mike Sessa getting the first in 1995. During the Patriot League Women’s Golf Championship last weekend at Saucon Valley Country Club, a pair of Lehigh golfers – Elizabeth McGarrigle and Reagan Jahn – had back-to-back hole-in-one.
2017 PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Golfer of the Year: Peter Kim, Sr., Army West Point
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Kelly, Fr., Lehigh
Coach of the Year: Chris Baloga, Loyola Maryland
Final Team Standings
1. Loyola MD -5 280 274 281 835
2. Army E 275 279 286 840
3. Bucknell +5 276 285 284 845
4. Navy +15 288 284 283 855
5. Lehigh +19 293 286 280 859
6. Lafayette +26 284 288 294 866
7. Colgate +30 284 287 299 870
8. Holy Cross +57 289 300 308 897
Individual Top 10
1. Peter Kim Army -10 68 63 69 200
2. JP Raftery Bucknell -6 67 68 69 204
3. Connor Flach Loyola MD -2 66 71 71 208
4. Will Wears Loyola MD -1 71 67 71 209
T5. Ryan Kelly Lehigh +1 74 69 68 211
T5. Erick Alonso Loyola MD +1 74 68 69 211
T7. Matthew Starobin Navy +2 73 71 68 212
T7. Griffin Peters Navy +2 72 71 69 212
T7. Brendan Peel Loyola MD +2 74 68 70 212
T7. Jubal Early Bucknell +2 67 73 72 212
First-Team All-Patriot League: Peter Kim, Army West Point (1st); JP Raftery, Bucknell (2nd), Connor Flach, Loyola Maryland (3rd); Will Wears, Loyola Maryland (4th); Ryan Kelly, Lehigh (T5th); Erick Alonso, Loyola Maryland (T5th).
Second-Team All-Patriot League: Matthew Starobin, Navy (T7th); Griffin Peters, Navy (T7th); Brendan Peel, Loyola Maryland, (T7th); Jubal Early, Bucknell (T7th).