April 28, 2012

Eagles earn at-large NCAA berth in South/Southeast Super Regional

INDIANAPOLIS- The Carson-Newman Eagles have earned an at-large berth in the 2012 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship and are the No. 7 seed from the Southeast Region for the tournament, the NCAA announced on Friday. The South/Southeast Super Regional will be held May 7-9 in Conover, N.C. on the Jones Course at Rock Barn Golf Club.

INDIANAPOLIS- The Carson-Newman Eagles have earned an at-large berth in the 2012 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship and are the No. 7 seed from the Southeast Region for the tournament, the NCAA announced on Friday.

The South/Southeast Super Regional will be held May 7-9 in Conover, N.C. on the Jones Course at Rock Barn Golf Club.

The Eagles are joined in the 20-team field for the Super Regional by South Atlantic Conference foe Wingate University, and schools from four other conferences including national runner up from 2011, Lynn University.

C-N earns a bid after a regular season which included a pair of team titles and six Top 5 finishes. Senior Liam Ashby was named South Atlantic Conference Golfer of the Year, while junior Gavin Hay and sophomore Jonathan Kim-Moss joined him in earning first team All-SAC honors.

"I'm proud of this team," C-N head coach John Minor said. "We've had a good year and have been consistent, but I still think we have yet to play our best golf. Our hope is to play our way into the top five at this super regional and advance to the spring sports festival in Louisville."

C-N finished third at the SAC Championships in mid-April, but now holds a distinct advantage over the NCAA field. The practice round on May 6 will be C-N's (and Wingate's) fifth round on the Jones Course in a three-week span. The course hosted the SAC Championships.

"Having competed at Rock Barn for conference and now returning for our regional, we should be much more comfortable on a very difficult golf course." Minor added. "The (Jones) course is a unique challenge, and experience and knowledge are on our side."

The top five teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional regardless of region) will advance to the finals May 15-19, at The Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky as part of the 2012 Division II Spring Championships Festival. The Festival will be hosted by Bellarmine University and the Louisville Sports Commission.

The event is hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne University. Live scoring will be provided throughout the tournament.

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGIONAL

Rock Barn Golf & Spa; Conover, North Carolina; hosted by the Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Southeast Region:

1. UNC Pembroke [Peach Belt Conference]

2. South Carolina Aiken

3. Georgia College

4. Wingate [South Atlantic Conference]

5. Georgia Southwestern State

6. Armstrong

7. Carson-Newman

8. Barton