May 13, 2009
UCF NCAA Regional Notes in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After winning the Conference USA Championship title in April at the RedTail Golf Club in nearby Sorrento, the UCF men's golf team will be seeking more success at the course when NCAA Regional play begins Thursday. The Knights are hosting the regional along with the Central Florida Sports Commission.
Admission is free to the three-round, three-day event. UCF will be making its third-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
The Knights are the fourth seed at the tournament and will begin play at 8:50 a.m. Thursday.
Fourteen teams will be in action at RedTail, including top-ranked Georgia, No. 10 South Carolina and No. 14 Indiana. The Knights are currently ranked 17th in the country according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
Five individuals are also scheduled to compete. The site is one of six 54-hole regional tournaments that will be conducted across the nation. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each location will advance to the NCAA Championship, which is set for May 27-30 in Toledo, Ohio.
Four of the five Knights who helped the team claim the C-USA title at RedTail on April 21 will be in action at the regional. Senior Simon Ward (County Monaghan, Ireland) took medalist honors at the league championship, followed by freshman Blayne Barber (Lake City, Fla.). After the event, Barber was named the C-USA Golfer and Freshman of the Year, and Ward, who is in his first campaign in Orlando, was selected as the newcomer of the year.
A pair of All-C-USA Second Team selections, senior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla.) and redshirt freshman Brad Schneider (Valrico, Fla.), are also in the lineup for head coach Nick Clinard. Johnson tied for 11th at the C-USA tournament. Junior Devin Spies (Sarasota, Fla.) rounds out the UCF lineup.
Clinard, who received C-USA Coach of the Year honors, has led the Knights to the regionals five times in his eight seasons at UCF. Johnson is the lone Knight who will be in action this week who competed in the NCAA West Regional a year ago for UCF.
The Knights won three tournaments during the 2008-09 regular season. The squad recorded eight top-five finishes, including seven-straight to end the year.
UCF will be looking to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1992.
Live statistics throughout the tournament will be available at Golfstat.com.
The RedTail Golf Club is located within the Heathrow Country Estates in Lake County and is situated between State Road 46 and State Road 46A.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.