Vikings Head to California For NCAA Regionals

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's golf team is heading west as the Vikings were one of 13 teams selected to participate in the NCAA Regional in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., from May 19-21 at The Farms G.C.

The official announcement was made on a conference call on Monday evening.

"I had a feeling coming in that we would be shipped out west," head coach Steve Weir said. "The region is very deep and talented and we know that we will have to play our best if we want to advance. We'll get out there, get adjusted to the time change and see what happens. I think it is going to be a very exciting regional.

"We played with a lot of confidence during the last few tournaments this spring and have focused on keeping our games sharp since winning the league championship a couple weeks ago."

Also participating in the regional with CSU are top-seeded UCLA, Texas, USC, San Diego, Ohio State, UNLV, North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Tulsa, SMU, Pacific and San Francisco.

Teams will play 18 holes each day.

The Vikings advanced to the NCAA regionals after winning the Horizon League Championship by seven shots over Wright State from April 22-24 in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. It was CSU's third league title in the last four years and fourth in the last six seasons.

Sophomore Michael Klaric and freshman Andrew Bailey paced the Vikings at the league championship, tying for medalist honors with 54-hole totals of 224. The duo earned spots on the All-Horizon League first team and was joined by senior Kent Monas who was tabbed the Horizon League Player of the Year.

In addition, Weir picked up his third Coach of the Year award in the last four seasons.

Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted from May 19-21. In addition to Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the regionals will be played in Tucson, Ariz, Erie, Colo., Ocala, Fla., Zionsville, Ind. And Blacksburg, Va. Thirteen teams and 10 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 of the six regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship which will be held from May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

Courtesy of Greg Murphy, Cleveland State Sports Information