GOLF | Gaels Arrive In Arizona For NCAA Regionals
5/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Saint Mary's golf team arrived in Arizona late Friday then conducted a practice round today at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana in advance of next week's NCAA Regional.
The West Coast Conference champion Gaels earned the league's at-large entry into the NCAA Chamionships and was selected to play in the NCAA's Tucson Regional at Gallery Golf Club. SMC is seeded ninth and joins top-seeded Stanford, Wake Forest, Cal, Oregon, North Carolina, North Florida, UAB, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, UC Riverside and Siena in the 14-team field.
SMC will start off the first tee at 8 a.m. Monday morning and will play its first round with with golfers from UAB and Georgia Tech.
The teams are not allowed to practice on the competition course at Gallery Club until Sunday's official practice round. So, SMC head coach Scott Hardy decided to travel his team to Arizona to aid with the golfers' transition to different conditions than they generally face in the Bay Area.
"We have played tournaments on desert courses this year, which we think will help us adjust to the conditions a bit quicker than some of the other teams," said Hardy. "Coming down to Arizona a day early and getting a chance to play at Dove Mountain should help us acclimatize even quicker. The ball generally travels farther and the fairways are a lot less forgiving. So, it was good to get on a nearby course and start getting used to the conditions."
The NCAA golf championships consist of six 54-hole regional tournaments. Thirteen teams and ten individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.
Team and individual medalist titles will be decided May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. The University of Oregon is the host institution for the 2016 championships.
Saint Mary's has participated in five NCAA regional events since 2005, including three in the last four seasons. In 2013, the Gaels finished a program-high third in the West Regional in Pullman, Wash. and advanced to the its second NCAA Championships. SMC also qualified for the 2008 finals after finishing seventh in the West Regional in Bremerton, Wash.
The Gaels are coming off their third WCC team championship in the last five seasons with a record-breaking performance three weeks ago at Blackhawk Country Club in Danville. SMC set a tournament record with a 25-under par 839 and won the title by 23 strokes over runner-up Pepperdine.
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