Gators Travel to North Carolina for NCAA Regional Championship
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 | Men's Golf
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida men's golf team aims to secure a spot in the NCAA Championship when it travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., this week to take on the field at the NCAA Regional Championship.
Hosted by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the three-day tournament tees off on Thursday at the University of North Carolina Finley Golf Course. Each of the 13 teams will battle to be one of the five that advance to the NCAA Championship.
The Chapel Hill Regional is one of six 54-hole regional tournaments that will be held across the country. Three regionals consist of 13 teams and 10 individuals, while the other three include 14 teams and five individuals.
In each NCAA Regional, the low five teams and the low individual from a non-advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championship tournament, which will be played May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
J.D. Tomlinson has been Florida's top finisher at the Orange and Blue's last seven tournaments. He owns the team's lowest stroke average, 71.48 strokes per round, and was the only Gator to play in the NCAA Regional last season. He'll lead the UF lineup, followed by classmate Eric Banks, who is coming off of a tie for 23rd at the SEC Championship.
Ryan Orr, who has collected five top-25 finishes this year, will play in the No. 3 spot, while A.J. Crouch will hold the No. 4 position. Crouch is the lone Gator with an individual title this season.
Ryan Celano will complete the Florida lineup. With three top-25 performances this season, the freshman's best finish was a tie for sixth place at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate.
Course Information: The University of North Carolina Finley Golf is a par-72, 7,242-yard course.
Tournament Information: The tournament will run Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16, and is hosted by UNC, Chapel Hill.
Format: Three-day, 54-hole tournament, with 18 holes played each day. Tee times begin at 8 a.m. Thursday and Friday and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Florida at the NCAA Regionals
- Since the NCAA Regional competition inception in 1989, UF has received a NCAA Regional bid 26 of 27 times
- Florida has gone on to advance to the NCAA Championship 25 times
- The Gators have won an NCAA Regional title five times, most recently in 2011
- In the team's most recent Regional showing in 2013, the Gators finished as runner-up
- J.D. Tomlinson was the only Gator who competed at the NCAA Regional in 2014, qualifying as an individual and finishing tied for 34th
The Gators' Lineup:
J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville, Fla.)
Eric Banks (Truro, Canada)
Ryan Orr (Belleair, Fla.)
A.J. Crouch (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Ryan Celano (Naples, Fla.)
Eyeing the Competition: The field consists of 13 teams and 10 individuals selected by the NCAA. Golfweek ranks three of the teams as top-25 squads. Florida is the No. 7 seed.
NCAA Chapel Hill, N.C., Regional Field (Golfweek's Top 25):
- Florida State (2)
- Stanford (5)
- UNC, Chapel Hill
- Kennesaw State
- Wake Forest (19)
- Clemson
- FLORIDA
- Georgia Regents
- UNC, Charlotte
- McNeese State
- Penn State
- Miami (OH)
- Loyola, Maryland
Individuals
- Zach Seabolt, Winthrop
- JT Poston, Western Carolina
- Trey Rule, Mercer
- Ben Wheeler, Coastal Carolina
- Ashton Van Horne, Belmont University
- Andrew Dorn, Coastal Carolina
- Ryan Cornfield, South Carolina Upstate
- Dawson Armstrong, Lipscomb
- Isaiah Logue, Liberty University
- Brendon Caballero, University of Tennessee at Martin
Head Coach JC Deacon
On his thoughts entering NCAA play
“I'm really proud of all of the work we've put in as a group this year. We've come so far from where we were back in September. I'm really proud of all of the guys, their hard work and effort and the attitudes that they put toward us growing and getting better as a team. It's a big week, and all we can do is control our preparation and our attitude and be ready to go when the tournament starts next Thursday.”
On the team's mindset
“It's more of just enjoying the work that we've put in. All of the guys have worked really hard. We pushed them in different areas and made them uncomfortable and tried to really stretch their potential. I want them to enjoy all of that work they've put in. We've been playing a bunch of golf together. We've been spending a ton of time together, and I just want them to enjoy the year's worth of work they've put in. We'll go and do our best next week and see what happens.”
Follow the Gators: Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on GatorZone.com following the day's play.
For complete coverage of the Gators' men's golf program, visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Men's Golf page on Facebook.
