Oct. 5, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Fresh off its dual meet victory over archrival Army last Sunday, the Navy golf team will be back in action this weekend when it travels to Delaware to take part in the Scotty Duncan Memorial. Action is slated to begin Saturday at the par-72 White Clay Creek Country Club in Stanton, Del., with the final round played on Sunday.

Delaware, the tournament host, claimed last fall's Scotty Duncan Memorial title with a 41-over par 617, a 15-stroke advantage over second-place Drexel. Meanwhile, the Blue Hens' Jason Bernstein defeated teammate John Jenson on the first hole of a sudden death playoff to win medalist honors.

Navy's senior class has served as the backbone this fall, as all three players have competed in the Mids' two tournaments, as well as last weekend's win over Army. Erich Schoen (Sylvania, Ohio) is pacing the team with his 72.0 stroke average that featured a 2-under par 69 in the final round of the Navy Fall Classic where he tied for seventh. Meanwhile team captain Chris Renninger (Darnestown, Md.) has turned in a 73.2 average through five rounds of play and like Schoen, he has produced a low round of 69 this fall. He recorded a 3-under par 69 in the middle of the 54-hole Sea Trail/Elon Invitational on Sept. 22. Finally, Ryan Sload (Lancaster, Pa.) owns a 75.2 stroke average and produced his first career top-10 finish with a 4-over par 146 at the Navy Fall Classic.

Playing in his first collegiate tournament, freshman Josh Ziska (Camarillo, Calif.) placed 52nd with a 14-over par 156 as a member of Navy's gold team at the Navy Fall Classic. However, since the Mids' opening tournament, Ziska has gained confidence in his swing, as well as his putting on the greens. In fact, Ziska was phenomenal in Navy's victory over Army where he paired up with Schoen to win the doubles point and followed up the next day by easily defeating Army's Matt Krembel, 4 &3.

The junior trio of Chip Hardie (Arnold, Md.), David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio) and Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.) will also represent the Midshipmen this weekend. All three won their individual matches against Army a week ago. Hardie owns Navy's third-lowest stroke average at 73.8, followed by Miller (74.5) who has played in one of the two tournaments this fall where he posted a 4-over par 149. Hardie's 2-under par 69 in the final round of the Navy Fall Classic pushed him up to 10th in the final standings. Wielgus produced a 6-over par 154 at the Navy Fall Classic, his lone tournament competition of the fall campaign.