Monday, May 09, 2005

            JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 9, 2005) - The NCAA Men's Golf Selection Committee announced Monday that the East Tennessee State University men's golf team will compete as part of the field in the NCAA East Regional, which is scheduled to be played May 19-21 at the Golf Club of Tennessee located in Franklin, Tenn.

            The Bucs will be the No. 12 seed in a 27-team regional field that includes squads such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina. ETSU received an automatic bid into the regional tournament by virtue of its victory at the Southern Conference Championships in April. It was a record 17^th SoCon title for the Bucs, and a record 12^th title for head coach Fred Warren, who broke the SoCon's previous coaching record set by Duke's Ellis "Dumpy" Hagler in 1951.

            "I think as a matter of convenience, this is a good draw for us," Warren said. "Our guys joked about wanting to go to Stanford and making the trip to California for that regional, but this is a bit closer to home."

            The Bucs will be trying to make their 15^th trip to the NCAA Championships by finishing in the Top 10 at the East Regionals. ETSU has enjoyed its share of success in the NCAAs, finishing third in the nation in 1996 and ninth in 2001. The 2001 squad actually won their regional tournament.