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Five Advance to NCAA Men's Golf Championship
Five to NCAA Championship

	Jonathan Fly, Memphis

May 19, 2012

IRVING, Texas - A league record five Conference USA men's golf teams have qualified for the NCAA Championship after finishing among the top five teams at their respective regionals. East Carolina, Memphis, Tulsa, UAB and UCF will represent the league May 29-June 3 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The five teams advancing to the finals surpass the previous record of two teams in 2001 and 2002.

SMU's Matt Schovee finished in a three-way tie for medalist honors at the Greensboro Regional, but was defeated by Campbell's Viata Guillaume in a one-hole sudden-death playoff to claim the individual spot for the NCAA Championship. Guillaume carded a par on the par-4 10th hole and Schovee recorded a bogey. Liberty's Robert Karlsson was not involved in the playoff, as Liberty advances as a team to the NCAA Championship.

Greensboro Regional Leaderboard - SMU/Tulsa

Bowling Green Regional Leaderboard - Memphis

Athens Regional Leaderboard - East Carolina/Houston

Stanford Regional Leaderboard - UAB/UCF

Athens Regional Recaps

East Carolina (NCAA Championship Qualifier):

Despite its worst round of the tournament, the East Carolina men's golf team secured its first berth in the NCAA Division I Championships with a second-place finish at the NCAA Athens Regional Saturday at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

The 33rd-ranked Pirates earn their first trip to the NCAA Championships after finishing among the top five teams at the regional. The NCAA Championships will be held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., beginning May 29.

ECU finished the three-day, 54-hole tournament at 1-over 853 (276-281-296). Although the Pirates shot 12-over Saturday, they finished five strokes ahead of No. 10 North Florida in third-place, 11 strokes in front of No. 24 Georgia in fourth and distanced themselves by 13 strokes from No. 27 Iowa in fifth.

Houston:

Houston posted a score of 296 for the second straight day and finished tied for ninth at the NCAA Athens Regional with a three-day score of 874.

Junior Will Dusenbury posted the Cougars' lowest score of the day with an even-par 71and finished 55th with a three-day score of 223. The League City, Texas, native finished with three birdies and only two bogeys in the final round.

Bowling Green Region Recap

Memphis (NCAA Championship Qualifier):

Memphis fought back from a back nine deficit to finish fifth in the NCAA Bowling Green Regional and secure a berth in the 2012 NCAA Championship May 29 - June 3 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Memphis carded a 54-hole score of 876 to finish fifth in the regional.

Fly led the Tigers with a program best NCAA Regional finish of tied for third. He carded a 54-hole total of 211 (-5) to lead the Tigers. Jack Belote finished with a 75 en route to a tied for 19th finish and a 54-hole total of 220. Will Pearson, who led the Tigers with a 69 in round two, tied teammate Grant Milner in round three with a 76. Pearson finished in a tie for 26th, while Milner landed in 57th. Steve Lee fired round of 76-76-73 for a tied for 40th showing.

Greensboro Regional Recaps

SMU:

After leading the NCAA East Regional through the first two rounds, SMU's Matt Schovee saw his collegiate career come to an end today in a sudden death playoff on the 10th hole of the East Course at the Grandover Resort. Fellow seniors Max Buckley and Marc Sambol's careers also came a close as SMU finished the regional in seventh place, five shots back of fifth place Tulsa.

Schovee came into the day with a two shot lead at 7-under, but would find himself in a sudden death playoff against Campbell's Viata Guillaume for the regional's individual spot in the NCAA Championship. The pair finished the round tied for first at 3-under along with Liberty's Robert Karlsson. No. 31 Liberty won the regional, so Karlsson did not have to compete in the playoff. Guillaume would par hole No. 10 after a Schovee bogey to advance as the Regional's individual.

As a team, SMU carded a 301 for the round, finishing the tournament with an 883 (288-294-301). Liberty led the way all week and finished atop the leaderboard after carding an 868. The other four teams to advance to the NCAA Championship were No. 18 Florida (871), No. 3 Auburn (874), Lamar (877) and Tulsa (878).

Tulsa (NCAA Championship Qualifier):

Tulsa will make its 10th trip to the NCAA Championship Finals and first time since 2007 as the Golden Hurricane placed fifth at the NCAA Greensboro Regional on Saturday afternoon. Tulsa shot a final round 288 to close out the 54-hole tournament with an 878 total at the par-72 Grandover East Golf Course.

The five teams from the Greensboro Regional advancing to the NCAA Championship Finals, May 29-June 3, include Liberty, Florida, Auburn, Lamar and Tulsa. No. 32 Liberty led from wire-to-wire and finished with a four-over par score of 868, while No. 17 Florida placed second with an 870 score and was followed by No. 5 Auburn (874), Lamar (877) and Tulsa (878).

Tulsa sophomore John Young Kim finished the tournament in seventh place with a 54-hole total of one-over par 217. He scored a one-over par 73 Saturday. Freshman Colton Staggs turned in Tulsa's best round of the day with a score of three-under par 69. He finished the tournament with a 221 total for 16th place.

Stanford Regional Recaps:

UAB (NCAA Championship Qualifier):

UAB earned its fourth trip to NCAA Championship after finishing in third place at the 2012 NCAA Stanford Regional with a team score of 10-under par 830 (278-274-278).

The Blazers are one of 30 teams (five from each of the six regionals) that are advancing to the national event, which will take place on May 29-June 3 in Pacific Palisades, Calif. at the Riviera Country Club.

This is first time since the 2008 season that UAB has earned a berth to the NCAA National Championship. Alan Kaufman has coached the Blazers to each of their four national appearances.

The biggest reason the Blazers hung tough during Saturday's final 18 holes was the play of senior Jason Shufflebotham. The Presatyn, Wales native shot a four-under par 66 on the afternoon, which marked his lowest round of the spring season and the second-lowest score of his career. Shufflebotham caught fire midway through his final round, recording five birdies during a six-hole stretch. He finished the event tied for 22nd overall with a one-under par 209 (72-71-66).

UCF (NCAA Championship Qualifier):

No. 22 UCF is heading back to the NCAA Championship. The Knights finished fifth at the NCAA Regionals at the Stanford Golf Course Saturday to advance to the championship for the fifth time in program history.

Head coach Bryce Wallor's team concluded the regional at 5-under 835, just two shots ahead of sixth-place Tennessee. The top five teams at each of the six regional sites nationally advanced to the NCAA Championship, which is set for May 29-June 3 in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The Knights last played in the championship in 2009.

UCF entered the final round in eighth but carded a 2-under 278 Saturday, compared to 4-over for Tennessee. Four of the Knights' five golfers had par or better rounds on the final 18, led by Jose Joia and Ricardo Gouveia, who both posted 1-under 69 rounds. Joia finished tied for eighth at 5-under 205, while fellow sophomore Gouveia tied for 18th (208, -2).