Posted: 09/07/2012 | Last updated: September 7, 2012 at 11:45 AM
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men’s golf team opens its fall season this weekend at the Colgate Invitational in Hamilton, N.Y. The two-day tournament begins Saturday and the Mountain Hawks will look to start their season on a high note in their first of five fall tournaments. Seventh-year head coach Henry D’Alberto returns five players from the team that finished third in the Patriot League Championship last spring and will add two freshmen to the roster.
Leading the returning squad is junior Andrew Arnold, who finished tied for sixth at the Patriot League Championship last season. Arnold garnered second-team All-Patriot League honors after a strong spring season where he was Lehigh’s low scorer in three events. His 76 stroke average is the best among Lehigh returners and he figures to be among the Mountain Hawks’ strongest players this fall.
Classmate Alex DiClemente will look to build on a strong season where he was one of only two Mountain Hawks to play in all nine of Lehigh’s tournaments. He finished just behind Arnold with a 77 stroke average and finished tied for 14th at the Patriot League Championship.
Sean Keller, the lone senior on the team, is back for his final season and also figures to be a top player for the Mountain Hawks. Keller finished tied for 30th at the Patriot League Championship and played in six of Lehigh’s nine tournaments.
Sophomore Carlos Kim also played in six of nine tournaments for the Mountain Hawks and should be an even bigger contributor after the loss of All-Patriot League seniors Doug Marcinin and Tim Rosenhouse. Kim finished 41st at the Patriot League Championship and held a stroke average of 78.1.
Sophomore Zach Allinson also returns and will look to build on a strong freshman year. Allinson played in all four of Lehigh’s fall tournaments a season ago and also competed in three of the team’s spring events.
The Mountain Hawks will also welcome two freshmen to the team. Harley Abrams and Jonathan Heydt will compete for the team beginning this fall. Abrams will begin his Lehigh career after playing high school golf for Spanish River in Boca Raton, Fla. and Heydt comes to Lehigh from Mertztown, Pa. where he played for Brandywine Heights High School.
The fall schedule begins at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y., where Lehigh will compete against Colgate, Bucknell, Fordham, Niagara, Rider, Youngstown state, Division II team Le Moyne and Canadian participant the University of Ottawa. The annual tournament was cancelled last year due to weather, so Colgate remains the defending champions after winning in 2010. Lehigh has not competed in the event since 2008, when they finished tied for third out of 12 teams.
The Mountain Hawks will also travel to Bucknell to compete in the Bucknell Invitational and Hartford for the Hartford Invitational before hosting the Lehigh Invitational at the Saucon Valley Country Club on October 20 and 21. Lehigh will also battle Lafayette in a match-play event October 9 at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J., marking the first time Lehigh and Lafayette will meet in match play, with the result counting in the head-to-head rivalry between the schools.
The spring season is set to begin in March and Lehigh will host the Patriot League Championships at Saucon Valley Country Club. The two day event will begin Saturday, April 27 and the Mountain Hawks will look to dethrone defending Patriot League Champions Navy.
Story by Cameron Omsberg ‘13