May 25, 2009
UCF NCAA Championship Notes in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The 16th-ranked UCF men's golf team will begin its quest for the national title on Tuesday when play begins at the NCAA Championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The Knights will be one of 30 squads in action at the event, which will feature three rounds of stroke play and then two days of match play.
Head coach Nick Clinard's Knights advanced to the championship after finishing first at the NCAA Regional in Sorrento, Fla., on May 16. UCF concluded the three-round event at the RedTail Golf Club at 34-under 818, 11 shots ahead of top-ranked Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina, who tied for second.
The regional title for the Knights was the first in program history. UCF will be competing at the national championship for the fourth time, but first since 1992.
UCF has enjoyed great success in 2008-09, winning four tournaments, including two in a row. Before taking the title at the regional, the squad was victorious at the Conference USA Championship in late April. The Knights enter the NCAA Championship with eight-consecutive top-five finishes.
All five UCF golfers who competed at the regional event will be in action in Toledo - senior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla.), juniors Devin Spies (Sarasota, Fla.) and Simon Ward (County Monaghan, Ireland), redshirt freshman Brad Schneider (Valrico, Fla.) and freshman Blayne Barber (Lake City, Fla.).
Schneider finished second individually at 13-under 200 at the regional. He was followed in third by Barber (202, -11). During the final round, Barber registered a school record 9-under 62. Schneider carded a 63 on the final 18.
Barber, the C-USA Golfer and Freshman of the Year, paces the team with eight top-10 finishes. The C-USA Newcomer of the Year, Ward earned medalist honors at the league tournament. Johnson, who along with Schneider was an All-C-USA Second Team pick, has played in all 12 events for Clinard this year. Spies played in just one tournament during the regular season, but contributed to the title at the regional.
On Tuesday, the Knights will be the first team to tee off, opening the first round and the tournament at 7 a.m. alongside Texas Tech and Oregon. The following day, the three squads will tee off at 12:12 p.m.
After Thursday's third round, the top-eight teams will move on to match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held Friday, with the championship match set for Saturday.
A par-71, 7,255-yard course, the Inverness Club was founded in 1903 and has hosted four U.S. Opens, one U.S. Amateur, one U.S. Senior Open and two PGA Championships.
Toledo is hosting the tournament. Live statistics will be available at Golfstat.com.
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.
Below are the seedings for the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championships:
1. Oklahoma State
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. Arizona State
5. UCLA
6. Georgia
7. Washington
8. Arkansas
9. Tennessee
10. Georgia Tech
11. Texas A&M
12. Illinois
13. Stanford
14. South Carolina
15. Southern California
16. UCF
17. Texas Tech
18. Oregon
19. Texas
20. Chattanooga
21. Arizona
22. Virginia
23. Ohio State
24. Northwestern
25. San Diego
26. TCU
27. Wake Forest
28. Duke
29. Michigan
30. Iowa