May 9, 2005

For the 10th straight year under head coach Puggy Blackmon, the University of South Carolina men’s golf team has been selected to compete in NCAA Regional play, the organization announced on Monday. The Gamecocks are the No. 8 seed in the NCAA West Regional, which will be hosted by Stanford University, May 19-21, at Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.

“We’ll see a new course and teams we have not played,” said Blackmon, who has taken his team into NCAA postseason play for 21 straight seasons (10 at USC, 11 at Georgia Tech). “We played well in Las Vegas (at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship) and a change of scenery may get us going.”

The field for each of three regionals (East, Central and West) was announced Monday. The low 10 teams and the low two individuals at each region will move on to compete for at the108th NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, June 1-4, at Caves Valley Golf Course in Baltimore, Md.

In order of seeding, participating teams at the NCAA West Regional are UNLV, New Mexico, Auburn, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona, Brigham Young, South Carolina, Southern California, Washington, LSU, Pepperdine, San Diego State, UC Riverside, St. Mary’s, Stanford, Texas-Arlington, Colorado State, Cal Poly, Fresno State, Oregon, Denver, South Alabama, Illinois State, Samford, Princeton and Central Connecticut State.

The Gamecocks, who have been ranked in the top 25 all spring, finished sixth at the SEC Championship. Ten of the 12 SEC teams will compete in NCAA Regionals, with seven league teams seeded in the top 10 of their respective region.

Carolina is currently No. 20 in the Golfweek rankings and holds down the No. 21 spot in the Golf Coaches Association of America/Bridgestone Poll. SEC Freshman of the Year Mark Anderson leads the Gamecocks with a national individual ranking of No. 25.

WEST REGIONALStanford Golf Course in Stanford, CaliforniaHosted by Stanford University
Teams (seeded in the following order):1. UNLV2. New Mexico (Mountain West)3. Auburn4. Arizona State5. UCLA6. Arizona7. Brigham Young8. South Carolina9. Southern California10. Washington (Pac-10)11. LSU12. Pepperdine (West Coast)13. San Diego State14. UC Riverside (Big West)15. St. Mary's (California)16. Stanford17. Texas-Arlington (Southland)18. Colorado State19. Cal Poly20. Fresno State21. Oregon22. Denver23. South Alabama (Sun Belt)24. Illinois State (Missouri Valley)25. Samford (Ohio Valley)26. Princeton (Ivy)27. Central Connecticut State (Northeast)
Individuals:1. Jeff Hood, California2. Garrett Sapp, UC Irvine3. David Kim, San Jose State4. Kenny Ebalo, Southern Utah5. Danny Bowen, New Mexico State6. Tyler Goulding, Air Force
EAST REGIONALGolf Club of Tennessee in Nashville, TennesseeHosted by the Southeastern Conference
Teams (seeded in the following order):1. Georgia2. Georgia Tech3. Florida4. Duke (Atlantic Coast)5. Wake Forest6. Tennessee7. Georgia Southern8. Alabama9. Clemson10. Georgia State (Atlantic Sun)11. Coastal Carolina (Big South)12. East Tennessee State (Southern)13. Indiana14. Central Florida15. North Carolina16. Louisville17. Virginia18. Vanderbilt19. Charlotte20. Penn State21. North Carolina-Wilmington (Colonial)22. Towson23. Rhode Island24. Rutgers25. Maryland26. Army (Patriot)27. Boston College
Individuals:1. Jordan Dempsey, Mississippi2. Rob Langley, Furman3. Michael Thompson, Tulane4. Robert Dinwiddie, Tennessee State5. Joe Deraney, Mississippi State6. Chris Wheeler, Tulane
CENTRAL REGIONALWarren Golf Course in South Bend, IndianaHosted by the University of Notre Dame
Teams (seeded in the following order):1. Oklahoma State (Big 12)2. Augusta State3. TCU (C-USA)4. Kentucky (SEC)5. Texas6. Purdue7. Minnesota8. Michigan State (Big Ten)9. Oklahoma10. Kent State (MAC)11. Texas Tech12. Southern Methodist (WAC)13. Tulsa14. Wichita State15. Xavier (Atlantic 10)16. Texas A&M17. Kansas18. Arkansas19. Baylor20. Notre Dame (Big East)21. Lamar22. Missouri23. Kansas State24. IUPUI (Mid-Continent)25. Jackson State (SWAC)26. Detroit (Horizon)27. Loyola (Maryland) (Metro Atlantic)
Individuals:1. Patrick Sullivan, Arkansas-Little Rock2. Scott Anderson, Ohio State3. Edward McGlasson, Colorado4. Garrett Chaussard, Illinois5. Chris Wilson, Northwestern6. Korey Mahoney, Eastern Michigan