Nick Ryder was named both the rookie and player of the year last season for his conference. Of course, he was also playing at Division III Williams College.
As a transfer this year, Ryder is now part of strong five-man rotation for the Penn golf team that will be seeking the school's first Ivy League Championship since 1998.
Penn has finished in second place in five of the last nine years.
The Quakers took third last year at the Ivy Championships held at Ballyowen Golf Course in Hamburg, N.J. The sole determinant of final league standings, it will be held there again year as well.
Penn finished one stroke behind Cornell, who came in second. All of the golfers who participated at that tournament will return this year.
As captains, senior Derek Rogers and junior Sean Barrett will be leading the Quakers. Barrett was All-Ivy last year, finishing second at the league tournament, while Rogers earned the distinction two years ago.
Rogers is the only senior on the roster.
"There is tremendous leadership in our captain Derek Rogers," coach Rob Powelson said. "Sean Barrett has raised the bar with his fellow players with offseason workout schedules and his focus."
The five-man rotation is balanced by sophomore Dean Merrill and freshman Mike Blodgett. Powelson calls Blodgett the "mini-Jim Furyk of our team."
Blodgett hasn't needed much time to raise his game to a college level. He finished in second place for Penn at two events in the fall.
Blodgett's play was critical for the Quakers at the MacDonald Cup, which the Quakers won. He shot a 146, finishing 15th overall.
But his main accomplishment was in making a critical and difficult 35-foot putt on the last hole of the day. That shot may have been the difference maker, as Penn finished ahead of Binghamton by one shot. The team also beat fellow Ivy teams Dartmouth, Brown, Yale, Columbia and Harvard.
The real question for the Quakers is whether they have what it takes to top the other two Ivies: Princeton and Cornell.
"I don't want to put the cart before the horse," Powelson said. "But we have a stronger team going into spring play this year" than last year.
While this wasn't readily apparent at the team's season opener two weeks ago -- the Quakers finished 12th out of 20 teams at the Braveheart Classic in California -- Powelson is still confident.
The coach believes his team has solidified its rotation, allowing it to be cohesive and focused.
Penn finished 32 strokes behind Princeton, the winner at last year's Ivy Championships.
To overtake the Tigers -- a team that will return four of five starters -- Barrett will need to repeat his second-place performance, and the rest will have to aspire to play like him.
Season Outlook
Fall 2005 results: 10th at Navy Invite, 12th at Sea Trail, 1st at MacDonald Cup, 11th at Big 5 Classic
2005 Ivy Championship result: 3rd place
Last Ivy Championship title: 1998
Coach: Rob Powelson, second season
First match: Monday, March 6, at Beaumont, Calif. (12th)
Golfer to watch: Junior Sean Barrett, finished third for Penn in all four of the Quakers' fall competitions
