Field Announced for NCAA Men’s Golf East Regional
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.-The field for the 2008 NCAA Men’s Golf East Regional with Chattanooga serving as the No. 5 seed as announced Monday by the NCAA. The regional is May 15-17 at Council Fire Golf Club.
The top seed for this region, and for the championship, is Georgia followed by Charlotte, South Carolina, Duke and Chattanooga. The remainder of the 27-team field includes Auburn, East Tennessee State, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Mississippi State, Virginia and Western Carolina. Six individuals (listed below in the notes) will be joining the teams to play for the right to move onto the NCAA Championships hosted by Purdue May 28-31 at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex-The Kampen Course.
“We could not be more excited at this opportunity,” said Head Coach Mark Guhne. “Playing at Council Fire gives us a little advantage, but it is a tough, tough draw. Our team is ready to play.
“It is also great to see Western Carolina and two individuals (Nathan Stamey, UNC Greensboro, Jimmy Lytle, Elon) from the SoCon make it into the field,” added Guhne.
There are three regionals, East (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Central (Columbus, Ohio) and West (Bremerton, Wash.). Each regional features 27 teams and select individuals.
NOTES
>The top 10 finishers move on to NCAA Championship at Purdue May 28-31. Top two individual finishers not on teams advancing move on as well.
>Teams in the East Regional Field who played in the Scenic City Invitational in the Fall at Council Fire: Seed-School Name (Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings Index Ranking)
No. 1 Georgia (2), No. 2 Charlotte (9), No. 3 South Carolina (12), No. 4 Duke (14), No. 5 CHATTANOOGA (13), No. 6 Auburn (16), No. 7 East Tennessee State (21), No. 8 Michigan State (20), No. 9 Ole Miss (31), No. 10 UAB (28), No. 11 Virginia Tech (34), No. 12 North Carolina State (32), No. 13 Mississippi State (38), No. 14 Georgia State (47), No. 15 North Florida (45), No. 16 UC-Irvine (49), No. 17 Augusta State (50), No. 18 SMU (40), No. 19 Middle Tennessee (55), No. 20 Coastal Carolina (62), No. 21 Memphis (60), No. 22 Virginia (65), No. 23 Western Carolina (71), No. 24 Colorado State (82), No. 25 New Mexico State (84), No. 26 Western Illinois (168), No. 27 Jackson State (259).
>Top 25 in the Golfstat Rankings for the East Regional Field: (1) Georgia, (5) Charlotte, (7) South Carolina, (12) Duke, (15) CHATTANOOGA, (16) Auburn, (21) East Tennessee State, (24) Michigan State.
>Individuals: Keegan Bradley, St John’s; Jose Toledo, New Orleans; Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama; Michael McGrady, Troy; Jon Curran, Vandy; Grant Leaver, Austin Peay
>Georgia is the overall No. 1 seed.
Western Carolina Men's Golf Garners School's First-ever Team At-Large Bid to NCAA Regional
Cullowhee, N.C. - On the strength of a strong regular season and a third-place finish at the annual Southern Conference Championship at the Country Club of South Carolina, the Western Carolina men's golf team today garnered the school's first-ever, at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
WCU will join SoCon-champion, Chattanooga, in the East Regional which the Mocs are hosting at the Council Fire Golf Club May 15-17. The Catamounts are the 23rd seed in the East, receiving the final at-large bid into the region.
Georgia garnered the top seed in the East, followed by Charlotte, South Carolina, Duke and UTC, rounding out the top five. The top 10 teams and top two individuals not on one of the advancing teams from each of the three regional sites will advance to the National Championship May 28-31.
Senior Matt Cook will be making his third-straight appearance in the NCAA post-season. The individual medalist at last month's Southern Conference men's golf championship, Cook earned two-consecutive, at-large bids each of the past two seasons. The Murphy, N.C., native posted a school-best, 20th-place finish at last year's East Regional with a three-round score of 223.
The Catamounts are one of six teams in the region to have played the course at Council Fire in the season-opening Scenic City Invitational back in mid-September, 2007. Western finished 15th at the event, but carded the 10th-best 54-hole score in school history at 879 (298-287-294).
Fans can follow all of the action from the East Regional with live scoring at www.golfstatresults.com.
UNCG’s Nathan Stamey earns spot as individual in NCAA Men’s Golf field, headed to Washington
INDIANAPOLIS, IN ? UNC Greensboro senior Nathan Stamey earned a spot in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship as an individual when the tournament field was announced on Monday evening. He has been assigned to the West Regional when play begins May 15.
Stamey, a native of Canton, NC, is one of 18 individual selections to the tournament. Elon’s Jimmy Lytle also earned a spot in the field as an individual, while Chattanooga and Western Carolina earned spots as teams. Chattanooga is the host of the East Regional.
Stamey finished second at the Southern Conference Championship last month, one of six Top 10 finishes he had on the season. Stamey had nine Top 20 finishes in 12 events on his way to a team-best 73.00 scoring average.
Stamey will play at the Gold Mountain GC in Bremerton, WA. He is no stranger to the course, having played in the 2006 United States Amateur Public Links Championship at that same course. Stamey will be in a 12:50 pm PT pairing in the practice round on May 14 and will tee it up at 1:32 pm local time on May 15 for the opening round.
It is the first time that a Spartan has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the Division I era. The last UNCG men’s golfer to earn a spot in the tournament came 21 years ago when Todd Jackson earned a place in the Division III Tournament as an individual. Only one Spartan has ever won a national title ? Ryan Fox in 1981.
A total of 30 teams and six individuals not on a qualifying team will compete in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, May 28-31 at Purdue in West Lafayette, IN.
AGATE
Complete NCAA Championship selections
EAST REGIONAL- May 15-17
Council Fire Golf Club ? Chattanooga, Tennessee Hosted by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia
2. Charlotte (Atlantic 10 Conference)
3. South Carolina
4. Duke
5. Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
6. Auburn
7. East Tennessee State
8. Michigan State (Big Ten Conference)
9. Mississippi
10. UAB (Conference USA)
11. Virginia Tech
12. North Carolina State
13. Mississippi State
14. Georgia State (Colonial Athletic Conference)
15. North Florida (Atlantic Sun Conference)
16. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
17. Augusta State
18. SMU
19. Middle Tennessee
20. Coastal Carolina (Big South Conference)
21. Memphis
22. Virginia
23. Western Carolina
24. Colorado State (Mountain West Conference)
25. New Mexico State (Western Athletic Conference)
26. Western Illinois (The Summit League)
27. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Individuals:
1. Keegan Bradley, St. John’s (New York)
2. Jose Toledo, New Orleans
3. Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama
4. Michael McGrady, Troy
5. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt
6. Grant Leaver, Austin Peay State
CENTRAL REGIONAL-May 15-17
Scarlet Golf Course ? Columbus, Ohio
Hosted by The Ohio State University
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Alabama (Southeastern Conference)
2. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)
3. Georgia Tech
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Lamar (Southland Conference)
7. Wake Forest
8. Indiana
9. Texas A&M
10. Louisville
11. Wichita State (Missouri Valley Conference)
12. Kent State
13. Penn State
14. Arkansas
15. Michigan
16. TCU
17. Texas-Arlington
18. Illinois
19. Ohio State
20. Baylor
21. Colorado
22. Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley Conference)
23. Marquette (Big East Conference)
24. Eastern Michigan (Mid-American Conference)
25. Cleveland State (Horizon League)
26. Loyola (Maryland) (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
27. Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)
Individuals:
1. Chris Baker, Iowa State
2. Clayton Rask, Minnesota
3. Josh Sandman, Notre Dame
4. Victor Almstrom, Minnesota
5. Brent Long, Western Kentucky
6. Jordan Weber, Northern Iowa
WEST REGIONAL-May 15-17
Gold Mountain Golf Club ? Bremerton, Washington Hosted by University of Washington
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Southern California
2. UCLA
3. Florida State (Atlantic Coast Conference)
4. Stanford
5. Clemson
6. UNLV
7. North Carolina
8. Texas Tech
9. Central Florida
10. Arizona State (Pacific-10 Conference)
11. San Diego State
12. Texas
13. LSU
14. Oregon State
15. Pepperdine
16. Oregon
17. California
18. St. Mary’s (California)
19. Kentucky
20. Wisconsin
21. Washington
22. Oklahoma
23. Kansas State
24. San Diego (West Coast Conference)
25. Denver (Sun Belt Conference)
26. Navy (The Patriot League)
27. Columbia (Ivy Group)
Individuals:
1. Troy Merritt, Boise State
2. Brian Locke, Loyola Marymount
3. Tarquin Macmanus, Arizona
4. Jason D’Amore, Loyola Marymount
5. Nathan Stamey, UNC Greensboro
6. Jimmy Lytle, Elon
Lytle Selected to NCAA West Regional
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. ? Elon senior Jimmy Lytle’s name was announced when the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee selected the teams and individuals Monday evening to participate in the NCAA West Regional May 15-17 at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington. Lytle becomes the first Phoenix golfer to compete in an NCAA Division I regional.
The three-time All-Southern Conference star and five other individuals join 27 teams at the regional event hosted by University of Washington. The three 54-hole regional competitions ? including the East Regional hosted by Chattanooga and the Central Regional hosted by Ohio State ? will be conducted to determine the participants who will advance to the NCAA Finals.
For the 2007-08 season, Lytle tallied 2,311 strokes over 32 rounds for a sizzling 72.22 scoring average ? the third-best average in the Southern Conference this year. Last month, he finished in a tie for fourth place at the Southern Conference Championship. This spring, he was named the SoCon Golfer of the Week twice and the SoCon Athlete of the Month once.
Lytle played in all 12 of Elon’s events this past season, amassing 10 top-25 finishes ? including eight in the top-10 and six in the top-five ? while scoring 13 rounds of par or better and eight rounds in the 60s. Along the way, he earned medalist honors at Francis Marion’s tournament and runner-up accolades at tournaments hosted by Old Dominion, Campbell and USC Aiken.