May 9, 2011
Complete NCAA Division I Regional Field
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s golf team, ranked 2nd in the nation in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index and 4th in the Golfstat rankings, has been made the top seed in the NCAA Virginia Tech Regional, which will be played May 19-21 at the Pete Dye River Course in Radford, Va., the NCAA Men’s Golf Selection Committee announced Monday.
The Yellow Jackets, who earned an automatic berth by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last month, is playing in an NCAA regional for the 14th straight year and for the 20th time in the 22 years the NCAA has used a regional qualifying format for its championship. They are part of a regional field that includes 13 teams and 10 individuals at Blacksburg.
“We are excited about being in the post season again,” said Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. “This is a great time of year with classes over and days filled with just golf. I have heard some good things about the golf course. I know the guys are excited about the challenge.”
The full Virginia Tech Regional field, in order of seed, includes Georgia Tech, LSU, Duke, Virginia, Oklahoma, Kent State (automatic qualifier from the Mid-American Conference), Virginia Tech, Mississippi, East Carolina, UNC Wilmington (automatic qualifier from the Colonial Athletic Association), Coastal Carolina, Lamar and Yale (automatic qualifier from the Ivy League).
The 10 individual competitors are, in order of seed, T.J. Howe of Penn State, John Popeck of Maryland, Jake Katz of Binghamton, Vaita Guillaume of Campbell, Adam Hoffman of Vanderbilt, Chandler Brazeal of Wofford, Matt Moot of Campbell, Richard Fountain of Davidson, Herbert Day of Xavier and Peter Williamson of Dartmouth.
The Yellow Jackets head into the post-season having won three tournaments this year, including the United States Collegiate Championship, the Yellow Jacket Classic and the ACC Championship. Four of Tech’s players are ranked among the nation’s top 55 players by the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index – John-Tyler Griffin (9), Kyle Scott (12), James White (17) and ACC individual medalist Paul Haley (54).
In all, 81 teams and 45 individuals are completing for spots in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, which will take place May 31-June 5 at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. The other five regional tournaments (with top seed in parentheses) will be held at the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Ariz. (Texas A&M), the Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colo. (Oklahoma State), the Golden Ocala Golf Club in Ocala, Fla. (Florida), Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind. (Alabama), and The Farms Golf Course in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (UCLA).
Each regional is a 54-hole, stroke-play event with 13 teams and 10 individials, or 14 teams and five individuals, competing. The top five teams after 54 holes and one individual not on those teams in each regional advance to the NCAA finals, which is being conducted on the home course of top-ranked Oklahoma State. The fields for all six regional tournaments can be found at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/golf-men/d1.
Tech has failed to advance through an NCAA regional only once in 20 tries (the Yellow Jackets did not receive bids in 1996 and 1997). Heppler’s teams have won two regional tournaments outright, in 1998 in Daufuskie Island, S.C., and 1999 in Providence, R.I., and shared the 2002 title with Clemson in Roswell, Ga.
2011 NCAA VIRGINIA TECH REGIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
Site: Pete Dye River Course, Blacksburg, Va. (host – Virginia Tech) Dates: May 19-21, 2010 (Thursday-Saturday), practice round on Wednesday, May 18
Teams competing (in order of seed): Georgia Tech, LSU, Duke, Virginia, Oklahoma, Kent State (automatic qualifier from the Mid-American Conference), Virginia Tech, Mississippi, East Carolina, UNC Wilmington (automatic qualifier from the Colonial Athletic Association), Coastal Carolina, Lamar and Yale (automatic qualifier from the Ivy League)
Individuals competing (in order of seed): T.J. Howe of Penn State, John Popeck of Maryland, Jake Katz of Binghamton, Vaita Guillaume of Campbell, Adam Hoffman of Vanderbilt, Chandler Brazeal of Wofford, Matt Moot of Campbell, Richard Fountain of Davidson, Herbert Day of Xavier and Peter Williamson of Dartmouth
Format: 54 holes (18 each day). Each team has five players, with the low four individual scores each day counting toward the team total. The top 5 teams and the top individual not on those teams after 54 holes advance to the NCAA Championship May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.
