April 25, 2010

• 2010 Patriot League Championship - Final Results

HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Anchored by All-Patriot League selections Michael Harrigan (Moorestown, N.J.), Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) and Peter Reilly (Merrimack, N.H.), the Navy golf team concluded its season with a fourth-place finish at the 2010 Patriot League Golf Championship Sunday afternoon at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y.

The Midshipmen found themselves down 11 strokes following the first 36 holes, but were optimistic as they headed into the final round. Navy, though, struggled in its short game and slipped from third to fourth on the final day. Navy turned in a 17-over par 305 over the final 18 holes to finish the tournament 50-over (914). The Mids finished 12 strokes behind 2010 Patriot League Champion Lafayette (303-295-304 -- 902), five strokes behind second-place Lehigh (307-300-302 -- 909) and two strokes behind third-place Army (300-311-301 -- 912). Bucknell (308-302-307 -- 917), the favorite to win this year's title, finished three strokes behind the Mids in fifth, followed by the host Colgate Raiders (310-307-311 -- 928) and Holy Cross (314-310-312 -- 936).

Lafayette sophomore Rob Robertson was named the Patriot League Player of the Year after claiming medalist honors with his 5-over par 221. Meanwhile, Lafayette's Matt Phillie was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year thanks to a third-place finish in the tournament and the Leopards' Jim Hutnik was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year.

"It's disappointing to not win the conference championship because we always begin the year with our sights set on winning the Patriot League Championship," said seven-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Pat Owen. "We've been training hard, but we didn't have our best weekend of golf as a team. Today we weren't sharp enough around the greens. You can look to a lot of different things, but I think sometimes it was our nerves.

"I thought we were making our run right around the 12th hole, but then we flattened out and weren't able to gain any ground."

Leading the way for the Midshipmen was Hayes, a junior, who paced the Midshipmen with a 12-over par 228 to finish ninth and grab Second-Team All-Patriot League honors. Hayes, who led all players with eight birdies has now appeared in a pair of Patriot League Championships, garnering all-league recognition in both.

Harrigan and Reilly also earned Second-Team All-Patriot League kudos by virtue of their 10th-place finish. Harrigan, Navy's team captain, maintained his 10-place position by posting a 5-over par 77 in the final round to finish the 54-hole tournament with a 13-over par 229. Reilly, last year's Patriot League Rookie of the Year, slipped from seventh to 10th in the final round after scoring a 6-over par 78 to also finish 13 over. Like Hayes, Reilly has represented the Midshipmen twice at the conference tournament and has earned all-league honors in both appearances.

Making his first Patriot League Tournament appearance was sophomore Tyler Kuhn (Louisville, Ky.), who placed 19th with a 16-over par 232. Kuhn turned in his best performance of the championship on Sunday where he posted a 4-over par 76 to gain five spots in the final standings. Also placing 19th was second-year standout Tim Shield (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.), who, a year ago, finished 16th in the conference tournament. Shield shot a 7-over par 79 in his final round of the year.

Rounding out Navy's lineup was sophomore Andrew Haines (Kirtland, Ohio), who finished 36th with a 29-over par 245.