May 8, 2006

COLUMBIA, S.C. – –

The University of South Carolina men’s golf team will compete in the NCAA East Regional Regional played May 18-20 at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. The Gamecocks, who earned their 11th-straight NCAA Regional invitation under head coach Puggy Blackmon, are the No. 13 seed in the East.

“The fact that we get to play in the East is a good thing. We’ll have a decent drive from (our final regular season event) at Lake Oconee down to Orlando,” Blackmon said. “I am amazed at how so many teams were shifted between regions. With teams like Georgia, UCLA and UNLV, the East is very competitive. We’ll have to play our best to advance (to the NCAA Championship).”

Three regional tournaments, encompassing the current nine regions, will be conducted May 18-20. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each regional site. Ten teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals, played May 31 to June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.

Other SEC teams included in the East Regional are No. 1 Georgia, No. 11 Auburn and No. 12 Tennessee.

The Gamecocks own three top-four finishes and one team win this season. Carolina captured the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate title on Oct. 16.

Senior Eirik Johansen, a first-team all-SEC selection, leads the Carolina charge with a 72.73 stroke average and five top-10 finishes this season. Freshman Florian Fritsch earned second-team all-SEC honors and owns a 72.89 stroke average.

South Carolina competed in the West Regional in Stanford, Calif., last season and came up just shy of advancing to the NCAA Championship after finishing tied for 10th place and falling in a playoff.

USC will wrap up the regular season May 14-15 in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga.

2006 NCAA Regional Fields
EAST REGIONALTeams (seeded in the following order):1. Georgia (Southeastern)2. UCLA (Pacific-10)3. UNLV4. Georgia State (Colonial)5. North Carolina6. Southern California7. Texas Tech8. Wake Forest9. Charlotte (Atlantic 10)10. Coastal Carolina (Big South)11. Auburn12. Tennessee13. South Carolina14. Florida State15. Indiana16. Notre Dame (Big East)17. Georgia Southern (Southern)18. Maryland19. Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)20. Western Illinois (Mid-Continent)21. Wichita State (Missouri Valley)22. Rhode Island23. George Washington24. Richmond25. Liberty26. Army27. Binghamton
Individuals:1. Luke List, Vanderbilt2. Daniel Willett, Jacksonville State3. Matt Cook, Western Carolina4. Garrett Osborne, Alabama-Birmingham5. Shawn Hall, Charleston Southern6. Scott Stallings, Tennessee Tech
CENTRAL REGIONAL
Teams (seeded in the following order):1. Oklahoma State2. Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coast)3. Texas A & M4. Clemson5. Duke6. Texas7. Kentucky8. Tulsa9. Northwestern (Big Ten)10. Minnesota11. Lamar (Southland)12. Kent State (MAC)13. Oklahoma (Big 12)14. TCU15. Purdue16. Southern Methodist (Conference USA)17. Xavier18. Texas-Arlington19. Colorado20. Missouri21. Nebraska22. Kansas State23. Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley)24. Cleveland State (Horizon League)25. Siena (Metro Atlantic Athletic)26. Princeton (Ivy Group)27. St. Francis (Pennsylvania) (Northeast)
Individuals:1. Matt Bortis, Arkansas2. Kane Hanson, Drake3. Gary Woodland, Kansas4. Korey Mahoney, Eastern Michigan5. Patrick Nagle, Illinois6. Ryan Brehm, Michigan State
WEST REGIONAL
Teams (seeded in the following order):1. Florida2. Arizona State3. BYU4. East Tennessee State5. Baylor6. Alabama7. Arizona8. San Diego State9. North Carolina State10. Washington11. New Mexico (Mountain West)12. Stanford13. Houston14. Pepperdine15. Louisville16. Denver17. Santa Clara18. New Mexico State (Western Athletic)19. Fresno State20. UC-Irvine 21. Nevada22. San Diego23. Cal Poly (Big West)24. Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)25. Loyola Marymount (West Coast)26. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic)27. Bucknell (Patriot League)
Individuals:1. Graham Delaet, Boise State2. Dustin Pimm, Utah3. Chadd Cocco, St. Mary's (California)4. Ryan Witz-Washington State5. Ryan Wood, Long Beach State6. Derek Whiting, Colorado State