May 7, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Unlike last year when it clinched an automatic berth by winning the Big Ten Championships, Northwestern's men's golf team had to sweat a little on selection day as they waited for the NCAA Championships selections to be released. Any doubts the Wildcats may have had were erased when it was announced that the 'Cats earned the No. 13 seed for the NCAA Central Regional Championships in Sugar Grove, Ill.

Northwestern will not have to travel far for this year's regional championships, which will be held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove -- just outside Aurora. Northern Illinois is hosting this year's Regional Championships, which will take place May 17-19.

The other two regions -- East and West -- are being conducted, respectively, in Alpharetta, Ga., and Tempe, Ariz. The top 10 teams in each region will advance to the National Championships, along with the top two individuals not on advancing teams.

This year's NCAA National Championships are being held on the Gold Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va. The 72-hole event, which will be played May 30-June 2, is being hosted by Virginia Commonwealth.

The Wildcats, ranked 36th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Index, are seeded right in the middle of a 27-team Central Regional field that includes four other Big Ten teams: Michigan State (No. 10 seed), Minnesota (No. 11), Wisconsin (No. 15) and Purdue (No. 16). The field is led by top-seed Alabama and defending national champion Oklahoma State.

Northwestern, which has earned its 23rd all-time trip to NCAA play, is looking to make back-to-back appearances in the National Championships after placing 25th a year ago in Sunriver, Ore.

Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the championships. Teams winning automatic qualification are designated by their conferences in parentheses.

EAST REGIONAL- May 17-19
The Golf Club of Georgia -- Alpharetta, Ga.
Hosted by Georgia Institute of Technology

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia
2. Clemson
3. Florida
4. Coastal Carolina (Big South Conference)
5. Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference)
6. Georgia State
7. Charlotte (Atlantic 10 Conference)
8. North Carolina
9. Florida State
10. Duke
11. Auburn
12. Mississippi
13. Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
14. Alabama-Birmingham
15. UCF
16. Virginia Tech
17. Penn State
18. Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic Association)
19. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference)
20. Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt Conference)
21. St. John's (New York)
22. Eastern Michigan (Mid-American Conference)
23. Maryland
24. Longwood
25. Rhode Island
26. Hartford
27. Boston College

Individuals:
1. Duncan Stewart, Jacksonville
2. Fredric Sundberg, Campbell
3. Chris Narramore, Middle Tennessee
4. Matt Cook, Western Carolina
5. Russell Knox, Jacksonville
6. Jeff Dennis, North Florida

CENTRAL REGIONAL-May 17-19
Rich Harvest Farms -- Sugar Grove, Ill.
Hosted by Northern Illinois University

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)
3. Lamar (Southland Conference)
4. Texas A&M
5. Louisville (Big East Conference)
6. Tennessee (Southeastern Conference)
7. Tulsa (Conference USA)
8. Texas
9. TCU
10. Michigan State (Big Ten Conference)
11. Minnesota
12. Southeastern Louisiana
13. Northwestern
14. Texas Tech
15. Wisconsin
16. Purdue
17. Wichita State
18. Southern Methodist
19. Baylor
20. Kansas
21. Colorado
22. Nebraska
23. Oklahoma
24. Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference)
25. Western Illinois (Mid-Continent Conference)
26. Siena (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
27. Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic Conference)

Individuals:
1. Andrew Landry, Arkansas
2. Jorge Campillo, Indiana
3. Jordan Irwin, Houston
4. Mauricio Tamez, Oral Roberts
5. Mike Van Sickle, Marquette
6. Jason Kokrak, Xavier

WEST REGIONAL-May 17-19
ASU Karsten Creek Golf Course -- Tempe, Ariz.
Hosted by the Arizona State University

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Stanford
2. UCLA
3. UNLV
4. Southern California (Pacific-10 Conference)
5. East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun Conference)
6. Brigham Young (Mountain West Conference)
7. Arizona State
8. Wake Forest
9. Arizona
10. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
11. South Carolina
12. Washington
13. Vanderbilt
14. Augusta State
15. Pepperdine (West Coast Conference)
16. San Diego State
17. New Mexico
18. Oregon State
19. Colorado State
20. Oregon
21. California
22. Nevada (Western Athletic Conference)
23. Denver
24. Pennsylvania (Ivy Group)
25. Detroit (Horizon League)
26. Bucknell (Patriot League)
27. Monmouth (Northeast Conference)

Individuals:
1. Brian Locke, Loyola Marymount
2. Dustin Pimm, Utah
3. Darrin Hall, San Diego
4. Michael McRae, St. Mary's (Calif.)
5. Geoff Gonzalez, Cal Poly
6. Thomas Petersson, Pacific