May 13, 2009
University Park, Pa. - With its 19th Regional bid in the past 20 years, the Penn State men's golf team is heading to Galloway, N.J., for the NCAA Northeast Regional tournament. Joining Penn State are 13 teams around the country to compete on the world-class 18-hole championship Galloway golf course. Columbia University will be host to the tournament held May 14-16 at the 7,022-yard par 71 course.
Penn State will show the same line-up as in the Big Ten championships, led by Junior Kevin Foley (SommerVIlle, N.J.). Foley was recently named First-Team All-Big Ten, the sixth Nittany Lion with the honor after his second place finish at the Big Ten championships. Joining Foley will be senior Chad Bricker, junior Jim Markovitz, junior T.J. Howe and freshmen Nick Archambault.
The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 58 according to Golfstat, are seeded 10th among 14 teams and are making their 16th appearance at Regionals under head coach Greg Nye. The Nittany Lions look for their 17th NCAA final bid in Penn State men's golf history and second consecutive bid since 1972-73. The Nittany Lions finished out their 2008 season with a 25th place finish at nationals. Penn State finished eighth in last years Central Regionals, their first appearance outside of the Northeast Regionals.
The Nittany Lions will compete in a 14-team field with five individuals, not from those teams, where low five teams and the low individual will advance to the finals from each region. Of the teams, eight are in the top 50 according to Golfstat, including No. 3 Clemson, No. 10 Alabama, No. 15 Illinois, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 27 Wake Forest, No. 34 Colorado State, No. 39 Kent State and No. 47 Coastal Carolina. Other participants include No. 62 Minnesota, No. 68 VCU, No. 202 Columbia and No. 218 Sacred Heart.
A total of 81 teams qualify for NCAA Regionals, competing at six different sites, three with 14 teams and three with 13 teams. The top five teams from each Regional advance to the 30-team NCAA Championship May 26-30 at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The tournament is 54 holes with 18 holes played on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Fans can follow live scoring at Golfstat.com or keep up with results at www.goPSUsports.com.