May 5, 2014
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team will venture to the Show Me State for the 2014 NCAA Regional Championships, slated for May 15-17, at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo., as announced Monday by the NCAA selection committee. The 38th-ranked Aztecs earned the No. 7 seed for their 16th consecutive NCAA regional appearance and 19th overall since the field expanded to include regional competition in 1989.
Under the guidance of 11th-year head coach Ryan Donovan, SDSU secured one of 50 at-large bids after finishing second at the 2014 Mountain West Championship, April 25-27, in Tucson, Ariz. A total of 81 NCAA Division I schools overall received invitations to compete in one of the six regional tournaments that will also be played concurrently in Eugene, Ore. (Oregon), Auburn, Ala. (Auburn), San Antonio, Texas (UTSA), Raleigh, N.C. (NC State) and Sugar Grove, Ill. (Northern Illinois).
The University of Missouri will serve as host to the Columbia Regional, which features 13 squads and five individuals in addition to the Aztecs. Teams will play 18 holes (54 total) each of the three days on the par-72, 7,141-yard course layout, following a practice round on Wednesday, May 14. Live hole-by-hole stats will be available on golfstat.com, as well as goaztecs.com for all three rounds. The top five schools and the low individual not on an advancing team from each of the six regionals will move on to the national championships, slated for May 23-28, at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
SDSU was one of just three Mountain West schools to earn a regional berth in 2014, joining New Mexico (No. 5 seed - Auburn, Ala.) and UNLV (No. 5 seed - Sugar Grove, Ill.). In addition, the conference will be represented by individuals Cody Blick of San José State and Air Force's Kyle Westmoreland, both of whom will compete in the Eugene Regional.
The Aztecs have come on strong this spring, posting five top-five finishes in eight events, highlighted by a team championship at the Jones Invitational on Feb. 25, followed by a runner-up effort at its own Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic on March 11. SDSU is led by junior Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.), who garnered all-Mountain West accolades along with sophomore Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and Ricky DeSantis, who was named the league's freshman of the year.
Schauffele occupies the 40th position in the latest Golfstat individual ratings and owns a team-best 71.67 stroke average, which ranks fourth in the Mountain West. The Scripps Ranch High alumnus has recorded five top-five finishes this season, including an individual title at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic.
The Aztecs have qualified for nationals 27 times in school history, including six times (1999, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012) since the regional format made its debut. SDSU claimed its first-ever NCAA regional crown in 2011, after finishing first by seven strokes as the No. 2 seed in Tucson, Ariz., followed by a runner-up performance at Stanford, Calif., in 2012. Last season, the Scarlet and Black came up short in its quest for a third straight trip to the NCAA championship round after falling to Ball State in a playoff at Pullman, Wash.
NCAA Regional - May 15-17, 2014The Club at Old Hawthorne (Par 72, 7,141 yards)Columbia, Mo.Host: Missouri
Teams seeded in the following order(latest Golfstat/Golfweek-Sagarin Ratings):1. Oklahoma State (2/5)2. Virginia (11/12)3. LSU (14/17)4. Arkansas (29/24)5. Arizona State (26/27)6. Iowa (35/37)7. San Diego State (38/34)8. Missouri (46/45)9. Iowa State (52/43)10. Middle Tennessee (59/61)11. Ohio State (63/63)12. Denver^ (129/132)13. Loyola (MD)^ (149/142)14. Bryant (233/241)^ = earned conference's NCAA automatic bid
Individuals1. Pep Angles, Central Arkansas (18/37)2. Matt Mabrey, Tulsa (NR/184)3. Logan McCracken, Tulsa (200/133)4. Daniel Wood, Kansas State (262/249)5. Alex Taylor, Fairfield (NR/1487)
SDSU At Regionals (*Regional play began in 1989)Year Finish - Site Score1990 13th - Las Cruces, N.M. 8711995 18th - Albuquerque, N.M. 9121997 18th - Santee, Calif. 9291999 5th - Tucson, Ariz. 8752000 18th - Fresno, Calif. 8832001 12th - Corvallis, Ore. 8872002^ t-10th - Albuquerque, N.M. 8822003 t-9th - Auburn, Wash. 8852004 13th - Sunriver, Ore. 8922005 7th - Stanford, Calif. 8602006 t-17th - Tucson, Ariz. 8602007 24th - Tempe, Ariz. 8842008+ t-9th - Bremerton, Wash. 8882009 7th - Daly City, Calif. 8572010 t-8th - Santee, Calif. 8992011 1st - Tucson, Ariz. 8332012 2nd - Stanford, Calif. 8212013~ t-5th - Pullman, Wash. 856
^SDSU eliminated by Texas Tech in sudden-death playoff+SDSU and Texas advanced over Pepperdine in three-team sudden-death playoff.~SDSU eliminated by Ball State in sudden-death playoff