ETSU sent to College Grove (Tenn.) Regional
INDIANAPOLIS – For the fourth straight year, the ETSU men's golf team will be heading to the NCAA Regional as the Buccaneers will stay in the state of Tennessee to play in the College Grove Regional at The Grove, May 15-17.
ETSU who will be making its fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance and 26th in program history, earned the automatic bid after winning its third straight Southern Conference Championship last week in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
The regional includes 13 teams, including four ranked in the top 25, three in the top 15 and four conference champions. The College Grove Regional will be held at The Grove golf course, which has hosted tournaments such as the Web.com Future Star Shootout, USGA Senior Amateur Qualifier and the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate.
A year ago in the NCAA Regional at the Blackwolf Run Meadow Valleys Course in Kohler, Wisconsin, ETSU finished tied for seventh after carding a 7-under 281 in the final round.
The six, 54-hole regional tournaments will be played May 15-17. ETSU is playing at one of the three regional sites featuring 13 teams and 10 individuals, while the other three regionals have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.
Team and individual NCAA titles will be decided May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The University of Northern Illinois will be the host institution for the 2017 championships.
Wofford's Andrew Novak earns individual NCAA berth
INDIANAPOLIS – Senior Andrew Novak has been selected to participate in the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf Championship. Novak will compete in the College Grove (Tennessee) Regional, hosted by Middle Tennessee State University on May 15-17 at The Grove. The selections were announced Thursday morning on Golf Channel.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 15-17. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.
Novak is the fourth Terrier in the program's Division I era to earn a bid to the NCAA Regionals, though the senior is returning for the second straight season. The native of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, tied for 17th in last year's Tuscaloosa Regional and set Wofford's best 54-hole total at NCAAs in program history.
“I'm very happy to be going back to regionals,” said Novak. “It is not easy to make it to nationals as an individual, but I welcome the challenge. I'm also honored to be able to be with Coach (Vic Lipscomb) for the final rounds of his collegiate coaching career. I will enjoy being out there with him.”
Lipscomb, who is retiring in June after 13 seasons at Wofford, couldn't think of a better way to end his career.
“This is a wonderful way to end my collegiate coaching career and my time at Wofford College,” said Lipscomb. “I'm looking forward to taking Andrew to compete in Tennessee and hopefully he can be the low individual and advance on to nationals.”
The 13 teams headed to Middle Tennessee are highlighted by top seeded Vanderbilt, the Southeastern Conference champion. Texas Tech is the No. 2 seed and nearby Clemson and Georgia are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.
The regional hosts 10 individuals not on qualifying teams. Novak is the top individual at the Middle Tennessee State site.
“I haven't played the course before, but I know the field is tough,” Novak added. “In my opinion, the individuals competing at The Grove are far and away better than the other groups of individuals at other sites and this should be a tough test.”
Novak was named the 2017 SoCon Golfer of the Year at the conference tournament last week, becoming Wofford's first golfer to win the award since its inception in 1989. He finished in the top 10 in nine of the 11 tournaments in which he competed this season, including two wins. Novak leads the conference with a 71.19 stroke average.
He was named the Southern Conference Golfer of the Month for March and was named Golfer of the Week twice. He was named Golfer of the Week three times in his junior campaign and his five career honors ties the league record set by Georgia Southern's Aron Price from 2003-05 and matched by GSU's Scott Wolfes from 2013-14. He was an All-SoCon selection each of the last two seasons.