If things had gone as planned earlier this semester, the AU Golf team might have entered this weekend's Patriot League championship with its off-the-course situation on its mind.
But now, with the team ensured one more year of play before its elimination, the Eagles can head to the Bucknell University Golf Course with their minds on something else: winning their first PL championship.
AU finished the spring with two strong outings after taking first at the Lafayette Invitational and second at George Washington's Bethany Beach Invitational. But in the home stretch, it's not just winning that have the Eagles looking up, but also just whom they beat.
AU hasn't placed behind a PL rival in spring play. It beat Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh at the Lafayette tournament and outpaced the Bison again a week later at Bethany Beach. Topping Bucknell twice shows just how different AU's prospects are this year: The Bison were picked to finish second in the PL and got four first-place votes.
Edging the Mountain Hawks is also a good sign for the team, as Lehigh has won two championships and has been strong in the past. But the Eagles have yet to tee off against Navy and defending champion Army, which have traditionally been the elite of the league. The service academies have won all but two conference titles since the tournament began in 1991.
AU was picked to finish fifth, which is just where the Eagles found themselves after last year's tournament, where they had their best-ever placing in the tournament.
Three Eagles cracked the top 20 at last year's tournament at Colgate, and all of them return to challenge the 70-par, 6,224-yard Bucknell course. Sophomore Todd Shagin led AU by placing 11th after shooting +20. Senior Phil Kief shot +22 for 13th place, and senior Chris Schieffer shot +24 to round out the 20th spot.
