Men's Golf Headed To U. of Washington Regional
5/4/2015 11:21:00 AM | Men's Golf
The Sam Houston men's golf team is off to the Great Northwest next week to participate in the NCAA Regional Championships hosted by the University of Washington at the famed Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton Thursday, May 14 through Saturday, May 16.
The Bearkats are the No. 8 seed in a field that includes South Carolina, Washington, Southern California, Baylor, UAB, TCU, Iowa State, Michigan, California-Davis, Virginia Commonwealth, Pepperdine, Cleveland State and South Dakota.
The top five finishers at regionals and top two individuals not on a qualifying team earn berths in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships to be held May 29 through June 3 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. The national championships will be televised live on The Golf Channel.
Last year, Sam Houston made its first ever NCAA Division I regional golf appearance as the No. 12 seed at Auburn, Alabama. The Bearkats placed 11th in the team standings but were just five strokes behind the fifth qualifying team.
“We're looking forward to getting back to the regionals,” head coach Brandt Kieschnick said. “We've really built on last year's performance at the regional. We've drawn on that experience all year. We're a deeper team this year and coming just five shots from nationals has expanded our horizons. We have five players who have the ability to shoot in the 60s on any given day and feel like we're a dangerous team.
“Gold Mountain Golf Club is an amazing course and we will be going up against an outstanding field. It's going to be a great experience.”
Sam Houston's back-to-back Southland champions ended a 20-year drought since the Kats' last league title. A program that produced four NAIA national championship teams in the late 1970s and early 1980s now is back in the national limelight.
In the Bearkats' 11 tournaments this year – all against top caliber NCAA Division I opponents – Sam Houston was won three events, finished as runner-up twice and third once.
“It's amazing to see just how far this program has come since I came here two years ago as a transfer,” Cabra said. “This program has improved not just in terms of how every has played but how mature everybody on the team is and how much they want to win.”
Cabra, who won the Southland Conference individual medalist championship a year ago, holds Sam Houston's all-time best career stroke average with a 71.67 mark. He placed 19th in last year's regional at Auburn.
Two weeks ago at the Southland Conference tournament the Kats were tested in a nail-biting finish that saw Sam Houston edge McNeese State by two strokes on the challenging Dye Course at Stonebridge Country Club in McKinney. Kieschnick believes the intense competition with McNeese State in the final few holes of this week's Southland event will benefit his team.
“It was a fight. We had a six shot lead after the first round and then we lost it,” Kieschnick said. “Every one of our five guys fought hard to take it back. McNeese is a great team. It literally came down to the last hole. We needed someone to challenge us. This will help us so much going up against the outstanding competition we'll face at the NCAA regional tournament.”
Senior J. T. Taylor, who won the Southland individual medalist title two weeks ago, came to Sam Houston three years ago as a transfer from McLennon Community College. He red-shirted last season and is looking forward to his first NCAA regional tournament experience.
“It's mind-boggling how far our golf program has come in the past few years,” Taylor said. “Everyone on this team is dedicated and super hard-working. It pays off in times like this week. To come out here and win and being heading to the NCAA regional is awesome.”
Two-time All-Southland Conference golfer Zach Cabra, who won the Southland individual medalist title a year ago and finished 19th at last year's regional in Auburn, enjoys the team aspect of the college game.
“As players we really lift each other up,” Cabra said. “We've really built on last year's trip to regionals. We've learned a lot about playing the game and making the scores come easier.”
The complete list of team and individual selections by site for the 2015 NCAA men's golf championships:
• The Sagamore Club – Noblesville, Indiana
Hosted by Ball State University
Teams:
1. University of Illinois, Champaign [Big Ten Conference]
2. University of Oregon
3. University of California, Los Angeles
4. University of Alabama
5. Southern Methodist University
6. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
7. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
8. Georgia Southern University [Sun Belt Conference]
9. University of Colorado, Boulder
10. New Mexico State University [Western Athletic Conference]
11. East Carolina University
12. Marquette University [Big East Conference]
13. Alabama State University [Southwestern Athletic Conference]
14. University of Pennsylvania [The Ivy League]
Individuals:
1. Chris Selfridge, University of Toledo
2. Jose Montano, Xavier University
3. Evan Bowser, Oakland University
4. Jose Pablo Segurola, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
5. Johnny Watts, Ball State University
• University of North Carolina Finley Golf Course – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Hosted by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Florida State University
2. Stanford University [Pac-12 Conference]
3. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
4. Kennesaw State University
5. Wake Forest University
6. Clemson University
7. University of Florida
8. Georgia Regents University [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference]
9. University of North Carolina, Charlotte
10. McNeese State University
11. Pennsylvania State University
12. Miami University (Ohio) [Mid-American Conference]
13. Loyola University Maryland [Patriot League]
Individuals:
1. Zach Seabolt, Winthrop University
2. JT Poston, Western Carolina University
3. Trey Rule, Mercer University
4. Ben Wheeler, Coastal Carolina University
5. Ashton Van Horne, Belmont University
6. Andrew Dorn, Coastal Carolina University
7. Ryan Cornfield, University of South Carolina Upstate
8. Dawson Armstrong, Lipscomb University
9. Isaiah Logue, Liberty University
10. Brendon Caballero, University of Tennessee at Martin
• The Farms Golf Club – Rancho Santa Fe, California
Hosted by University of San Diego
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Arizona State University
2. Georgia Institute of Technology [Atlantic Coast Conference]
3. University of Oklahoma
4. University of New Mexico
5. University of Virginia
6. University of Georgia
7. East Tennessee State University [Southern Conference]
8. University of Mississippi
9. University of San Diego
10. University of Idaho [Big Sky Conference]
11. St. Mary's College of California
12. Wichita State University [Missouri Valley Conference]
13. Eastern Kentucky University [Ohio Valley Conference]
Individuals:
1. Cody Blick, San Jose State University
2. Petter Mikalsen, University of Denver
3. George Cunningham, University of Arizona
4. Antoine Rozner, University of Missouri-Kansas City
5. Chad Merzbacher, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
6. David Kocher, University of Maryland, College Park
7. Matt Green, Kansas State University
8. Conner Campbell, Loyola Marymount University
9. Hayden Shieh, Santa Clara University
10. Justin De Los Stanos, California Polytechnic State University
• The Rawls Course – Lubbock, Texas
Hosted by the Texas Tech University
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. University of Texas at Austin [Big 12 Conference]
2. Texas Tech University
3. Auburn University
4. University of North Florida [Atlantic Sun Conference]
5. University of California, Berkeley
6. University of Houston
7. University of Louisville
8. Duke University
9. Southeastern Louisiana State University
10. Purdue University
11. Georgia State University
12. University of California, Irvine [Big West Conference]
13. Charleston Southern University [Big South Conference]
Individuals:
1. Tomasz Anderson, Jacksonville State University
2. Adria Arnaus, Texas A&M University, College Station
3. Victor Lange, Louisiana Tech University
4. Tyler McDaniel, University of Kentucky
5. David Snyder, University of Kentucky
6. Greg Yates, Texas A&M University, College Station
7. Martin Simonsen, University of Texas at El Paso
8. Matt Mabrey, The University of Tulsa
9. Jake Sherwin, Florida Gulf Coast University
10. Nocolas Platret, University of Texas, Pan American
• Gold Mountain Golf Club – Bremerton, Washington
Hosted by University of Washington
Teams:
1. University of South Carolina, Columbia
2. University of Washington
3. University of Southern California
4. Baylor University
5. University of Alabama at Birmingham
6. Texas Christian University
7. Iowa State University
8. Sam Houston State University [Southland Conference]
9. University of Michigan
10. University of California, Davis
11. Virginia Commonwealth University [Atlantic 10 Conference}
12. Pepperdine University [West Coast Conference]
13. Cleveland State University [Horizon League]
14. University of South Dakota [The Summit League]
Individuals:
1. Byron Meth, University of the Pacific
2. Jose Mendez, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
3. Alex Franklin, Oregon State University
4. Jordan Rodgers, Brigham Young University
5. James Fahy, Gonzaga University
• The Course at Yale – New Haven, Connecticut
Hosted by Yale University
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Vanderbilt University
2. Louisiana State University [Southeastern Conference]
3. University of South Florida [American Athletic Conference]
4. Oklahoma State University
5. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
6. San Diego State University [Mountain West Conference]
7. University of Iowa
8. North Carolina State University
9. The Ohio State University
10. Troy University
11. University of North Texas [Conference USA]
12. College of Charleston (South Carolina) [Colonial Athletic Conference]
13. Robert Morris University [Northeast Conference]
14. Saint Peter's University [Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference]
Individuals:
1. Brandon Matthews, Temple University
2. Dylan Crowley, St. John's University (New York)
3. George Williams, Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus
4. Kevin Kramarski, Iona College
5. Quinn Prchal, Princeton University
