May 10, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 12th-ranked South Carolina men’s golf team earned its ninth-straight NCAA Regional bid when it was selected to the 27-team field for the 2004 East Regional, which will be hosted by Yale University on May 20-22 in New Haven, Conn. The 6,679-yard, par-72 Yale Golf Course will be the site of the 54-hole event for the third time, having also hosted in 1991 and 1995.

The top 10 teams from each of the three regional sites (East, Central, West) and the top two individuals not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championships in Hot Springs, Va., on June 1-4, at the 6,615-yard, par-70 Cascades Golf Course.

“Obviously we are pleased to be selected to compete in the NCAA East Regional, ” said South Carolina head coach Puggy Blackmon. “It certainly is a strong field, as always, and to be able to advance to the NCAA Championship out of the East Regional will require teams to play some very good golf. We are looking forward that challenge.”

The trip to the East Regional will mark the 16th NCAA Appearance for the Gamecocks in school history. Including South Carolina (No. 12), the field will feature eight of the nation’s top-20 teams and four of the top 10, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, including Florida (No. 1), Clemson (No. 2), Georgia (No. 3), Georgia Tech (No. 6), Augusta State (No. 14), Wake Forest (No. 16), and Duke (No. 18). Also part of the 27th teams competing (in seed order) will be Tennessee, North Carolina, LSU, Georgia State, Jacksonville State, NC State, UAB, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, Penn State, Georgetown, Towson, Rhode Island, Maryland, Binghamton, Yale, Army, and Long Island.

The Gamecocks will be grouped with Georgia Tech and Augusta State for both the first and second rounds of the East Regional. South Carolina will tee off beginning at 11:33 a.m. on May 20 for the first round and at 7:30 a.m. on May 21 for the second round. The full field of all three NCAA Regionals can be found at www.ncaasports.com, while live scoring of all three tournaments will be available at www.golfstatlive.com.

2004 NCAA East RegionalMay 20-22Yale Golf CourseNew Haven, Conn.
TEAMS (In order by seed)1. Florida2. Clemson3. Georgia4. Georgia Tech5. South Carolina6. Augusta State7. Wake Forest8. Duke9. Tennessee10. North Carolina11. LSU12. Georgia State13. Jacksonville State14. NC State15. UAB16. Auburn17. Vanderbilt18. Georgia Southern19. Penn State20. Georgetown21. Towson22. Rhode Island23. Maryland24. Binghamton25. Yale26. Army27. Long Island
INDIVIDUALS1. Lars Brovold, Alabama2. Billy Hurley, Navy3. Gareth Maybin, South Alabama4. Ryan Stinnett, Virginia Tech5. Robert Dinwiddie, Tennessee State6. Matt Johnson, Winthrop