May 5, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's golf team received an at-large invitation to the NCAA West Regionals on Monday and the 25th-ranked Knights will compete at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash., May 15-17. UCF was awarded with the ninth seed in the region and will be participating in NCAA Regional play for the second-consecutive year.
The 27-team NCAA West Regional includes nine of the nation's top-25 squads, including No. 2 Southern California, No. 4 UCLA, No. 9 Florida State and No. 11 Stanford. In 2007, Stanford claimed the national championship.
"We are looking forward to playing in Washington and competing at the NCAA West Regional. The guys are excited about going west and we will play to win," said UCF head coach Nick Clinard. "We have a good seed and that will give us some good tee times in the large field. We have had a great year. I have always said that regionals and nationals are the only two majors we play in college golf and we will be ready."
In seven years at UCF, Clinard has now guided the Knights to the NCAA Regionals on four occasions.
This season, Clinard has led UCF to one of the finest campaigns in program history. The squad has spent the majority of the 2007-08 season in the top 25 of the national rankings.
For the first time since 2003-04, the Knights won two tournaments during the year. On Feb. 26, the squad won its home event, taking the title at the UCF Rio Pinar Invitational in Orlando. UCF claimed its second crown on April 14, winning the UK Bluegrass Invitational in Lexington, Ky.
In addition to winning a pair of tournaments, the team also posted three other top-five finishes.
Following the Conference USA Championship in April, two Knights received honors from the league. Junior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year and also earned a spot on the all-conference first team with fellow junior Greg Forest (Palm City, Fla./Martin County).
A year ago, the Knights participated in the NCAA East Regional in Alpharetta, Ga. UCF was one of 27 teams that participated in the event and placed 13th.
This season, UCF is one of six teams from the east coast heading to Washington to compete in the three-round tournament.
This trip to the postseason will mark UCF's 11th all-time appearance in the NCAA Regionals.
The NCAA Championship will be conducted May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also visit www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.