March 5, 2006

Final Results (PDF)
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WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - Ohio University senior Brian Bickle shot an even-par 72 Sunday in the final round of the Orange County National Xavier Invitational but it was not enough to help the Bobcats move up in the standings.

Ohio finished with a team score of 907 (308-298-301), which was 43 strokes off par and 74 strokes behind tournament champion Lamar's score of 833 (271-279-283). Lamar won the 15-team event by 19 strokes over runner-up and tournament host Xavier.

By tying for 38th out of 80 individual competitors, junior Mark Cimarolli (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the Bobcats with a 54-hole score of 222 (75-72-75). Despite a strong finish, Bickle (Gallipolis, Ohio) tied for 60th at 227 (84-71-72). Ohio senior Jon Johasky (Lower Burrell, Pa.) was just one stroke back at 228 (77-76-75) while juniors Ryan Siekmann (Dublin, Ohio) and Grant Christman (Columbus, Ohio) finished with scores of 231 (73-79-79) and 245 (83-81-81), respectively.

Three players - Eastern Michigan's Graham Hill and Lamar's Andrew Landry and Justin Harding - tied for first with three-round scores of 208. Flights conflicts prevented a playoff for individual medalist.

The two-day tournament was held on the 7,277-yard, par-72 Crooked Cat Course at the Orange County National Golf Center just outside Orlando, Fla.

Next on the schedule for the Bobcats is their spring break trip to Pinehurst, N.C., from March 18 to March 25. Their next tournament will be the Marshall Invitational on April 7-8.