University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Men's Golf Receives Berth in NCAA Central Regional
5/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
The University of Minnesota men's golf team has received a berth into the NCAA Central Regional to be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois on May 17-19. The Gophers are coming off their third Big Ten title in the past six years tying for the Championship with Michigan State. Minnesota will be seeded 11th in the Central Regional while the Spartans will be seeded 10th. The Gophers and Spartans are two of six Big Ten teams to receive invitations to the NCAA Men's Golf Regional Championships. Northwestern is seeded 13th in the Central alogn with Wisconsin at No. 15 and Purdue at No. 16. Penn State will compete in the East Regional and are seeded 17th. The top 10 teams and two individuals not on advancing teams in each Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va. on May 30-June 2.
The Gophers will make their 15th straight NCAA Regional appearance. Last season, Minnesota finished sixth at the Central Regional in Cleveland, Ohio, before tying for third at the NCAA Championship. The school's second top-three finish at the Championships in the last five seasons. Minnesota won the 2002 National title, and are one of only five programs (Clemson, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Georgia Tech), to have two top-five finishes in the last five years. Of those five schools, only the Gophers, Clemson and Oklahoma State boast NCAA titles in that span.
The Gophers have advanced to regional play every season under head coach Brad James and three times in five seasons Minnesota has played its way into the NCAA Championships. Minnesota has won one team regional title and have two individual medalist winners in the program's history. The Gophres won the 1999 NCAA Central Regional Championship with Rob Kerr winning individual medalist honors and three-time All-American Justin Smith won the 2002 Central Regional title.
CENTRAL REGIONAL-May 17-19
Rich Harvest Farms- Sugar Grove, Illinois
Hosted by Northern Illinois University
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)
3. Lamar (Southland Conference)
4. Texas A&M
5. Louisville (Big East Conference)
6. Tennessee (Southeastern Conference)
7. Tulsa (Conference USA)
8. Texas
9. TCU
10. Michigan State (Big Ten Conference)
11. Minnesota
12. Southeastern Louisiana
13. Northwestern
14. Texas Tech
15. Wisconsin
16. Purdue
17. Wichita State
18. Southern Methodist
19. Baylor
20. Kansas
21. Colorado
22. Nebraska
23. Oklahoma
24. Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference)
25. Western Illinois (Mid-Continent Conference)
26. Siena (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
27. Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Individuals:
1. Andrew Landry, Arkansas
2. Jorge Campillo, Indiana
3. Jordan Irwin, Houston
4. Mauricio Tamez, Oral Roberts
5. Mike Van Sickle, Marquette
6. Jason Kokrak, Xavier
Minnesota NCAA Regionals
Team Finishes
Year Region PLACE SCORE
1993 Central (Columbus, Ohio) 5th 887
1994 Central (Oklahoma City, Okla.) T-13th 876
1995 Central (Montgomery, Texas) T-14th 894
1996 Central (Ann Arbor, Mich.) 12th 884
1997 Central (Norman, Okla.) 17th 896
1998 Central (San Antonio, Texas) 6th 862
1999 Central (Columbus, Ohio) 1st 865
2000 Central (Victoria, Texas) 5th 852
2001 Central (Stillwater, Okla.) T-4th 885
2002 West (Albuquerque, N.M.) 4th 875
2003 Central (Manhattan, Kan.) 7th 870
2004 Central (West Lafayette, Ind.) 11th 911
2005 Central (South Bend, Ind.) 16th 878
2006 Central (Cleveland, Ohio) 6th 874
