Oct. 21, 2007

Results

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Rahul Desai (Avon, Conn./Kingswood-Oxford School) shot a 2-under 70 and nearly led the Bucknell men's golf team to an improbable comeback Sunday at the Lehigh Invitational at Saucon Valley Country Club. After no Bison shot better than 81 en route to a tough opening-night 329, they used four scores of 74 or better to hack a whopping 38 strokes off that total. Sunday's 291 was the best in the field by 16 shots, and Bucknell moved all the way up to second place, just five behind first-place Penn.

Desai made two birdies and 16 pars to complete a terrific fall season with a T-2nd finish. It was his fifth top-three finish in six tournaments this fall, and he broke the school single-season record with a 72.9 scoring average.

Brian Poe (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) shot a 1-over 73, Keita Aoki (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International School) and Brian Bartow (Rye, N.Y./Rye Neck) both shot 74, and Stuart Lindgren (Richfield, Minn./Richfield) finished up with a 77.

The only four players in the field who broke 75 on Sunday came from Bucknell. The Bison finished 15 shots ahead of third-place Siena.

Penn's Michael Blodgett shot two 75s to win the individual title by one shot over Desai and Siena's Don Denyse. All five Bison finished in the top 15, as Bartow finished eighth, Poe 10th, Aoki 13th and Lindgren T-14th.

In seven fall events, the Bison finished first once, second three times and third once.

Bucknell will be back at Saucon Valley in the April for the Patriot League Championship.