May 10, 2004

PALADINS GOLFERS TO COMPETE IN WEST REGIONAL

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Furman’s Paladin golf team, recipient of the Southern Conference’s 2004 automatic bid, will compete for a berth in the National Championship at the NCAA West Regional, May 20-22, at Crosswater Golf Course in Sunriver, Ore.

“It’s going to be different for our guys because we haven’t played out west in a while,” said coach Todd Satterfield. “We will hope for good weather and good conditions, but a golf course is a golf course and every team will have to play well to advance.”

The Paladins, seeded 18th in the West Regional, will have to finish in the top 10 to earn a berth to the NCAA National Championships, June 1-4 at The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va. Furman’s last trip to the NCAA Regionals was in 2002, and resulted in a 21st-place showing at Settindown Creek Golf Club in Roswell, Ga. The Paladins’ last trip to the NCAA National Championship was 1986, when Furman placed 19th at the Bermuda Run Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The West Regional will feature, among other teams, fourth-ranked Arizona State, fifth-ranked UCLA, seventh-ranked Arizona, 11th-ranked Southern Cal, 15th-ranked UNLV, Pepperdine, and Stanford. Coastal Carolina is also being sent to the West Region as the 23rd-seed. Twenty-seven teams and six individuals will compete in each Regional, with the top 10 teams and two individuals advancing to the national finals.

The Furman Paladins will leave Greenville on Tuesday, May 18. Wednesday, the 19th will feature a practice round with competition beginning at the Crosswater Club on Thursday.

WEST REGIONAL
Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon
Hosted by University of Portland

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. UCLA
2. Arizona State
3. Arizona (Pac-10)
4. Southern California
5. Brigham Young
6. California
7. UNLV
8. Washington
9. New Mexico (Mountain West)
10. Pepperdine (West Coast)
11. Colorado State
12. Toledo (MAC)
13. UTEP
14. UCF (Atlantic Sun)
15. San Diego State
16. Stanford
17. North Carolina-Wilmington (Colonial)
18. Furman (Southern)
19. Denver
20. New Mexico State (Sun Belt)
21. UC Riverside
22. UC Irvine
23. Coastal Carolina (Big South)
24. Long Beach State (Big West)
25. Louisiana-Monroe (Southland)
26. Loyola (Maryland) (Metro Atlantic)
27. Wright State (Horizon)

Individuals:
1. Matt Kodama, Hawaii
2. Travis Bertoni, Cal Poly
3. Graham DeLaet, Boise State
4. Chad Spencer, Fresno State
5. Joe Lanza, St. Mary’s (California)
6. Garrett Clegg, Utah