Tuesday, May 30, 2006

            SUNRIVER, Ore. (May 30, 2006) - The 11^th-ranked ETSU men's golf team will compete for a national championship beginning this week, as the Bucs enter first round play Wednesday in the NCAA Championships at the Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort.

            The Bucs, who will be making their 15^th appearance in the NCAA Championships, will begin play at approximately 5:17 (EST) on Wednesday and fans can watch the scoring live by visiting www.golfstat.com. Teams will be competing over the first three days to make the cut and reach the final round of action on Saturday, June 3. The top 15 teams will make the cut.

ETSU has a strong history of NCAA success, having reached the NCAA Championship 14 times previously in the history of the program. In fact, the Bucs enjoyed national finishes as high as sixth in 1975, third in 1996 and ninth in 2001.

            ETSU junior Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales), who is currently ranked fourth nationally, will lead a young ETSU squad into their first NCAA Championship since 2001. Davies, a PING first-team All-American, and sophomore Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) are coming off strong efforts in the NCAA West Regional, where Davies posted a third-place finish and Shaw ended the event tied for 11^th.

            The teams and the seeding for the championships are as follows: 1. Oklahoma State; 2. Arizona; 3. Georgia; 4. Florida; 5. Arizona State; 6. Texas A&M; 7. Texas Tech; 8. Georgia Tech;;9. North Carolina; 10. BYU; 11. UCLA; 12. Clemson; 13. ETSU; 14. Duke; 15. UNLV; 16. Wake Forest; 17. Northwestern; 18. Washington; 19. Coastal Carolina; 20. Lamar; 21. North Carolina St.; 22. Charlotte; 23. Minnesota; 24. Oklahoma; 25. Loyola Marymount; 26. Auburn; 27. South Carolina; 28. Pepperdine; 29. Kentucky; 30. Nevada.

            To follow the Bucs throughout the championship, fans can visit ETSUBucs.com for a complete wrap up of the day's play.