Baseball Basketball Cross Country Golf Soccer Swimming Tennis

Basketball Cross Country Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming Tennis

Academic Support Bona Athletic Fund Calendar Camps Compliance Contact Us Corporate Partners Facilities Hall of Fame Mission Statement Multimedia Listen Quick Facts SAAC Site Map Sports Medicine Staff Directory Strength & Conditioning Varsity B Club

Athletics Complex Map Auctions Directions Travel Weather Wireless

Bonnies Radio Network Junior Bonnies Club Sponsorship Upcoming Promotions

www.sbu.edu Prospective Students Donate Online SBU Bookstore

Dec. 8, 2005

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The performance of St. Bonaventure's golf team in the fall 2005 season was nearly as picture perfect as the weather.

Two tournament victories and three other top-five showings provided a convincing argument for the Bonnies to climb in the Mid-Atlantic Region rankings. St. Bonaventure began the season ranked 18th out of 49 teams, and moved up four spots to 14th in the end-of-the-fall poll.

"To climb ahead of the likes of Rutgers, Georgetown, William & Mary and Towson, who are perennial top-10 teams in our region, speaks volumes of the effort and year-round dedication from our group of student-athletes," said Steve Campbell, who has been the Bonnies' head coach since 1993. "Three years ago, we had a solid team and had a very good fall (also winning twice), but I think that this fall campaign exceeds that one. We've never shot as low as we did as consistently as we did this past fall."

Campbell knew he would have the makings of a strong team a year ago, when his young team was the runner-up in three tournaments. Ben Howe, then a sophomore, and Andy Whalen and Ryan Swanson, then freshmen, played in every tournament. That trio gained valuable experience. Now, they join senior Josh Anderson to form a veteran, tested nucleus.

The Bonnies opened the fall with a fifth place finish at the Navy Invitational, then won the three-round Bucknell Invitational by the slimmest of margins - one shot. Next came the Little Three trophy, which St. Bonaventure retained with a win on Grand Island, N.Y. After a fifth place showing at the Cornell Invitational, St. Bonaventure won its own Keenan Invitational at Bartlett Country Club. Again, it was no runaway as the Bonnies were forced into a team playoff by Drexel. St. Bonaventure's fortitude was evidenced in a convincing win on the first playoff hole. The fall concluded with a runner-up finish at Binghamton's NBT Bank Classic.

"Three years ago, we had a solid team and had a good fall (also winning two tournaments), but I think that this fall exceeds that one," evaluated Campbell, who has been head coach since 1993. "We've never shot as low as we did as consistently as we did this past fall. The number of times we broke 290 (7) was astounding."

Anderson and Howe provide solid leadership as co-captains. Anderson captured medalist honors at Bucknell, closing with a three-under par 67. Howe was the Bonnies' low man at the Keenan, finishing in a tie for third place.

"We're getting great leadership from Ben and Josh on and off the golf course. You really need a couple guys to step up and kind of coach the team for the coach. They did a nice job in that area," said Campbell. "Josh was very consistent and could have been even better in a few rounds if the putter was really working. Ben worked real hard in the off-season and it showed. No one's going to out-work those two, and that sets the tone for the rest of the team."

While Whalen and Swanson were impressive as rookies, no one could have predicted how much they would improve as sophomores. Whalen led the team with a 72.4 scoring average while Swanson ranked third (behind Anderson's 72.8) at 73.6.

"We're reaping the benefits of what Andy and Ryan experienced last year," Campbell said. "They also worked extremely hard over the summer. Andy had just a tremendous fall. He's got a future that is extremely bright if he continues to work. Ryan improved his driving and that helped him lower his scores."

While his top four players are set, Campbell said the development of a consistent "fifth man" was equally important to his team's success this fall. In college golf, teams field a five-player lineup and count only the top four scores of each round. Freshman Brennan Payne worked his way into that final spot for the second half of the fall. Sophomores Norm Strotman and Mike Pochily also proved capable of filling the role.

"Last spring, we were getting four very respectable scores and we kind of dodged not having a consistently good fifth score," said Campbell. "We've got some guys who can step in and help when we need them. The confidence level of the top four guys, once they could see that we would have a solid fifth man every tournament, just went up and up."

The challenge now is to sustain the momentum of the fall when the spring season begins in mid-March. The highlight of the spring, of course, will be the Atlantic 10 Championship in May, which moves to Orlando, Fla., for the first time. Last year, St. Bonaventure finished a disappointing ninth.

"We've got to have a good spring, of course, and the later the tournament falls on the calendar, the more important it will be," said Campbell. "The challenge is immense in the Atlantic 10 ... Charlotte and Xavier are both ranked in the top 30 nationally. But, we clearly have narrowed the gap and can play with the other schools who have been ahead of us. There is very little that separates everybody else in the conference."

The Bonnies will open the spring season March 9-10 at the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Spring Classic.