Mocs Earn No. 13 Seed in East Regional; Western Carolina's Matt Cook Picks Up an At-Large Bid in NCAA Regional
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--Although the Chattanooga men’s golf team has known for two weeks that the Mocs’ first invitation to the NCAA Championships was forthcoming, the destination was the remaining piece of the puzzle.
That question was answered early this evening when the Mocs were announced as the No. 13 seed in the East Regional to be played May 17-19 in Alpharetta, Georgia. The top 10 teams at each 27-team Regional site will claim a berth in the NCAA Finals held May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.
UTC will have some stiff competition for a pass to the finals with top-seeded Georgia leading a field which includes four programs from the Southeastern Conference and five from the Atlantic Coast Conference seeded ahead of the Mocs.
The Mocs will play with UAB and Central Florida the first two days, teeing off the first tee beginning at 1:05 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, and playing early on Friday from the 10th tee beginning at 8:35 EDT.
Georgia Tech is the host of the East Regional which will be played at the 7,020 yard, par-72 layout of the Lakeside Course at Golf Club of Georgia. The course hosted the U.S. Collegiate Championship earlier this season with a 13-team field all ranked in the top 30 in the nation. None of the teams were able to break par in the 54 hole event, with Clemson winning the team title at even par.
“It is a very difficult course” said Chattanooga head coach Mark Guhne. “I think that is really good for us. We do well on tough layouts. Our guys know how to grind. Just about every tournament this year we have been at the top of the field in pars made. When you see a course like this where even par is a good score, it sets up well for us. Our guys are playing well right now and have been done with finals for a week already. They are ready to just go out and play.”
The Mocs lineup will consist of seniors Mitch Brock and Bryce Ledford, sophomore Jonathan Hodge, and freshmen Fredrik Qvicker and Derek Rende. Ledford, Hodge and Rende claimed All-Conference honors at last month’s SoCon Championships, with Hodge named Player of the Year. Rende took home the Freshman of the Year award.
Hodge leads the team with a 71.71 stroke average followed by Rende (73.28) and Ledford (73.61).
Last month’s Southern Conference championship was the second in Chattanooga history, the first coming 20 years earlier in 1987. The NCAA Championship was structured differently then and the Mocs did not receive an invitation. The current regional system was started in 1989.
The Mocs will play in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga. prior to the regional. The Mocs finished third in the elite event last season. Five of the teams the Mocs will face in the East Regional will be in the Linger Longer field.
Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the championships. Teams winning automatic qualification are designated by their conferences in parentheses.
EAST REGIONAL- May 17-19
The Golf Club of Georgia- Alpharetta, Georgia
Hosted by Georgia Institute of Technology
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia
2. Clemson
3. Florida
4. Coastal Carolina (Big South Conference)
5. Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference)
6. Georgia State
7. Charlotte (Atlantic 10 Conference)
8. North Carolina
9. Florida State
10. Duke
11. Auburn
12. Mississippi
13. Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
14. Alabama-Birmingham
15. UCF
16. Virginia Tech
17. Penn State
18. Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic Association)
19. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference)
20. Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt Conference)
21. St. John’s (Big East)
22. Eastern Michigan (Mid-American Conference)
23. Maryland
24. Longwood
25. Rhode Island
26. Hartford
27. Boston College
Individuals:
1. Duncan Stewart, Jacksonville
2. Fredric Sundberg, Campbell
3. Chris Narramore, Middle Tennessee
4. Matt Cook, Western Carolina
5. Russell Knox, Jacksonville
6. Jeff Dennis, North Florida
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina junior Matt Cook was among 18 individuals nationally, and six in the East Region, to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. The 54-hole event will be held at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga., on May 17-19.
There are three regional tournaments nationwide, encompassing the current nine sub-regions, will be conducted May 17-19. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each regional site. Ten teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals which will be conducted May 30-June 2 at the Gold Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.
Cook, who currently sits atop Western’s all-time career scoring chart and was the nation’s top-rated golfer according to Golfstat at mid-season, will be making his second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA men’s golf championship after also advancing last season as an individual. The Murphy, N.C., native carded a three-round score of 237 in last year’s regional event held at the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla.
This season, Cook has posted seven top 10 finishes, including three-consecutive individual medalist honors during the fall portion of the season and a fourth-place showing at last month’s Southern Conference Championship. The All-SoCon performer and two-time SoCon Player of the Month this season was also twice recognized by Golf World, making its mid-season "All-American" team and was named "Most Surprising Player" in the nation by the publication.
Practice rounds for the 2007 NCAA East Regional will take place on Wednesday, May 16, with the opening round to tee off on the morning of Thursday, May 17.