The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Golf to Compete in NCAA East Regional
5/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 6, 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- For the third consecutive year, the UAB men's golf team has been selected to compete in the NCAA Championships. The Blazers have been tabbed to participate in the NCAA East Regional May 16-18 at the Ansley Golf Club's Settin' Down Creek in Roswell, Ga.
''We are pleased to be going to Atlanta,'' said fourth-year head coach Alan Kaufman. ''We are fortunate to have a veteran squad with three of five players having participated in the 2001 NCAA Championship at Duke. These guys have the experience to go head to head with the tough competition and advance to Ohio State.''
The event will consist of 54 holes and feature 27 teams and the top six individuals not on those teams. From there, the top 10 teams from each of three regionals advance to the NCAA Championship May 29-June 1 at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. The Blazers will be vying for their second straight NCAA top-15 finish.
Last season, the Blazers finished ninth of 27 teams at the NCAA East Regional in Williamsburg, Va. UAB advanced to the national championship where it placed 12th of 30 teams at the Duke University Golf Course in Durham, N.C. Florida's Nick Gilliam captured individual honors and led the Gators to the national title.
This season, the Blazers have tallied six top five finishes including a win at the Country Club of Louisiana Intercollegiate in the fall. UAB has ranked in the top-25 in the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) rankings and the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index Poll.
The Blazers are led by junior Graeme McDowell who is one of the top individual contenders to win the championship. He has been ranked No. 1 in both collegiate rankings and has posted five tournament wins this season. For the second consecutive season, McDowell was named C-USA Player of the Year and earned All-Conference USA Team honors. Earlier this month, he was named one of ten finalists for the Ben Hogan Award, given to the top collegiate golfer of the year.
Georgia Tech claimed the No. 1 seed in the East followed by Florida, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Clemson, Augusta State, Auburn, Georgia, North Carolina, Duke, UAB, North Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, College of Charleston, Michigan State, Coastal Carolina, Furman, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville State, Virginia Commonwealth, Penn State, South Alabama, William & Mary, Yale, Rhode Island and Iona College.
The six individuals who will be participating are Andy Smith of Southeastern Louisiana, Brandt Snedeker of Vanderbilt, Tim Yelverton of Southern Miss, Simon Dunn of Campbell, Adam Gee of North Carolina-Wilmington, and David Riles of Charleston Southern.
C-USA Champion TCU is seeded first in the Central region, while Southern California is No. 1 in the West region.
This marks the fourth NCAA Regional in five years for the Blazers. UAB went to the East Regionals in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
