The Pitt-Bradford men's golf team will kick off the 2016 campaign Saturday by hosting its annual Invitational at Pine Acres Country Club.
A total of 14 teams and 85 golfers will be competing in the 15th edition of the Pitt-Bradford Invitational. Thiel won the event last year, outpacing runner-up Penn State Altoona by 16 shots. The Panthers will be looking to improve upon their ninth-place finish from a year ago and will lean on a veteran group to do so.
With all seven AMCC teams in attendance, head coach Keith Stauffer sees Saturday as a chance to gauge the top teams and establish early momentum.
"This will give us a barometer of our standing right out of the box," Stauffer said. "We have been practicing hard the last two weeks and, hopefully, our games will be ready for Saturday."
Four of the five golfers who competed in last year's AMCC Championship return for Pitt-Bradford, including second-team all-conference selection Brett Gardner. Seniors John Bedford, Tom Morlock and Sawyer Tessmer and juniors Shayne Kraynyk and Aaron Vansickles return as well, to give the Panthers plenty of experience.
The Panthers welcome four newcomers in Sam Marchini, Matt Moonan, Evan Piganelli and Jamie Rook, and Stauffer is impressed with their performances so far in preseason.
"Although the freshmen are new to college golf, their games are primed for the upcoming season," Stauffer said. "I am very encouraged by their progress thus far and it's really early in the season."
The play of the newcomers has bolstered the team's depth, a strength the Panthers have lacked in recent years.
"This is one of the few years I can remember this much depth on the team," Stauffer said. "We legitimately have all 10 golfers who may see significant playing time this fall.
We haven't had that asset in quite a while."
The Panthers will be busy throughout the month of September before competing in the AMCC Championships in early October, where Stauffer believes this group will be among the top teams.
"I think we have a chance to be one of the top contenders in the conference," Stauffer said. "But we have to play our best week in and week out."
