May 5, 2008

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Coming off of a come-from-behind win at the 2008 MWC championships, the Colorado State University men's golf team is headed to Chattanooga, Tenn., as the No. 24 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Division I men's golf tournament.  The tournament, which runs May 15-17, will take place at Council Fire Golf Club and is hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.   

"We're very exited to extend our season and play in the NCAA regional," said Head Coach Jamie Bermel.  "There are a lot of great teams competing in Chattanooga and we look forward to seeing what we can do in the field."

Colorado State will join 26 other teams and six individual golfers to compete for a place in the 2008 NCAA men's golf championships slated for May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., hosted by Purdue University. 

Teams who place in the Top 10, plus two of the six individuals entered in each region, will earn a spot in the national tournament.  This marks Colorado State's 12th appearance in the NCAA regional since 1996 and the eighth berth in nine seasons under the guidance Jamie Bermel, 2008 MWC Coach of the Year.

The Rams feature a youthful but talented team led by 2008 all-conference performers Dustin Morris and Bryce Hanstad, both sophomores, and 2007 all-MWC player, Zen Brown, a junior.  Sophomore Riley Arp enters the regional fresh off of a second-place finish at the MWC Championships, and sophomore Sean McNamara, who has played in 10 of 11 tournaments for CSU this season, posted a sixth-place finish Nov. 10-11 at the Agua Caliente Collegiate, in which the Rams fired a school record 787 (263-259-265) en route to a second-consecutive first-place finish to end the fall season.   

Colorado State is one of four MWC teams entered in a regional, joining  UNLV (No. 6, West), San Diego State (No. 11, West) and TCU (No. 16, Central).

Last season, CSU finished tied for 16th in the West Regional at Arizona State University's Karsten Golf Course.  Three Rams return with NCAA regional experience this season.  Then-freshman Dustin Morris paced the Rams at last year's regional, finishing in a tie for 18th place with a three-round total of 206 (71-69-66).   

Georgia is the top seed in the East Regional, followed by Charlotte and South Carolina.  The teams will play 54 holes over three days in the regional competition.

EAST REGIONAL- May 15-17
Council Fire Golf Club - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Hosted by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia
2. Charlotte (Atlantic 10 Conference)
3. South Carolina
4. Duke
5. Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
6. Auburn
7. East Tennessee State
8. Michigan State (Big Ten Conference)
9. Mississippi
10. UAB (Conference USA)
11. Virginia Tech
12. North Carolina State
13. Mississippi State
14. Georgia State (Colonial Athletic Conference)
15. North Florida (Atlantic Sun Conference)
16. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
17. Augusta State
18. SMU
19. Middle Tennessee
20. Coastal Carolina (Big South Conference)
21. Memphis
22. Virginia
23. Western Carolina
24. Colorado State (Mountain West Conference)
25. New Mexico State (Western Athletic Conference)
26. Western Illinois (The Summit League)
27. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference)

Individuals:
1. Keegan Bradley, St. John's (N.Y.)
2. Jose Toledo, New Orleans
3. Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama
4. Michael McGrady, Troy
5. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt
6. Grant Leaver, Austin Peay State