May 23, 2009

Northwestern's NCAA Championships Notes (PDF Format)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the sixth time under head coach Pat Goss, Northwestern has qualified for the NCAA National Championships as a team, earning one of 30 slots at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, for the May 26-30 tournament. The Wildcats are one of five Big Ten programs to advance in 2009.

NU will tee off from 7:47 a.m.--8:25 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday from the first tee before going off from 12:59 p.m.--1:37 p.m. ET Wednesday on the back side. Northwestern is paired with No. 22 seed Virginia and No. 23 seed Ohio State for the first two rounds, while third-round tee times and pairings will be made based on the results from the first 36 holes of the event.

After the conclusion of 54 holes of stroke play, the individual champion will be crowned. The top eight teams then will advance to match play Friday and Saturday to determine the team NCAA champion.

Northwestern qualified for the tournament by virtue of its fourth-place tie with No. 16 TCU at the NCAA South Central Regional in Stillwater, Okla. Despite having just one golfer finish in the top-20 individually, the Wildcats put together a team effort good enough to defeat eight other squads -- including four ranked in the top 50 of the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings -- and tie the Horned Frogs to earn a National Championships invitation.

The Wildcats enter the NCAA Championships on the heels of a red-hot spring, both individually and in team terms. Northwestern won the team title at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus, Ohio, earlier in the spring, and three different 'Cats have earned top-2 finishes in tournaments during the 2009 calendar year.

Freshman Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year following his medalist performance at the Big Ten Championships. Sophomore Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) took second at the Kepler and junior Jonathan Bowers was second at the FAU Spring Break Championship in March.

While both Dupont and Bowers have shown the ability to go low for an entire event, junior David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) has consistently done it all year. Lipsky leads NU with a 73.03 stroke average in 2008-09, earning All-Big Ten second-team accolades after picking up three top-10 and three more top-20 finishes in NU's 11 stroke play events this year.

Freshman Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) will be joining Northwestern's lineup as a member of the tournament squad for the first time this season. Chien, who has played in a pair of events as an individual this year, earned NU's fifth spot during qualifying play among the Wildcats.

For more information the 2009 NCAA Championships hosted by Toledo at the Inverness Club, visit UTRockets.com. For live results, visit Golfstat.com.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (All times Eastern)
Monday, May 25
9 a.m. • Practice Round (shotgun start)

Tuesday, May 26
7 a.m. • 1st Round (156 players) • 30 teams

Wednesday, May 27
7 a.m. • 2nd Round (156 players) • 30 teams

Thursday, May 28
7 a.m. • 3rd Round (156 players) • 30 teams
Individual Champion crowned following Thursday

Friday, May 29
Match play begins
7 a.m. • Quarterfinal matches off 1st tee
2 p.m. • Semifinal matches off 1st tee

Saturday, May 30
10 a.m. • Final match for Saturday off 1st tee