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| Golfers Qualify For NCAA Regional Release: 05/06/2013 Courtesy: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information | ||||||
| BOULDER — The University of Colorado men’s golf team was invited Monday to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2009, as the Buffaloes will be one of 14 teams participating in the Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional May 16-18. Colorado, ranked No. 60 in the nation (GolfStat; No. 67 Golfweek) is the No. 10 seed in the field. “We’re obviously really pleased about the selection, and it’s representative of a strong year by the team and all the hard work has paid off,” said head coach Roy Edwards. “Everyone is excited to advance to the regional, and we’re really excited that we get the chance to advance to the Finals from there.” Edwards indicated that he would select which five players will make the trip to Fayetteville in the coming days. Four Buffs, seniors Jason Burstyn and Derek Fribbs, sophomore David Oraee and freshman Philip Juel-Berg have played in all 12 tournaments (38 rounds) this season, and most likely will be among that quintet. If so, the fifth player will come from a pool of four others who have competed at various times throughout the season. Juel-Berg led CU with a 24th place finish at the recently completed Pac-12 Championships, as Colorado placed 10th as a team. A disappointing final round cost the Buffs as high as a sixth place finish. “We were really close to having a top six finish, and in a six-count-five format, and even though we finished 10th, the performance wasn’t that poor,” Edwards said. “We were only a few shots short of finishing much higher, but the important thing that happened is that the golf course (Los Angeles Country Club North) taught our guys a lot of how we have to play the game. So no matter where we finished, that was a very valuable experience that I believe we can carry over into regionals.” How good is the Pac-12 Conference? The league received three No. 1 seeds (California, UCLA and Washington), and is sending 10 teams into regional play. Thus, all nine schools that bested CU in the league meet are also in the postseason, though none are joining the Buffaloes in Arkansas. Old Big 12 Conference foes Texas (No. 1 seed) and Oklahoma State (No. 3) are in the Fayetteville draw, with the two ranked Nos. 5 and 16 in the nation, respectively; in-between is host and 13th-ranked Arkansas. The remainder of the field in seed order includes No. 21 SMU, No. 28 Kent State, No. 32 Illinois, No. 40 Liberty, No. 45 Tulsa, No. 53 Kentucky, No. 60 Colorado, No. 67 Indiana, No. 72 UNC-Wilmington, UM-Kansas City and Alabama State. The Buffaloes will attempt to advance to the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time since the 2001-02 season; five times since that year CU has qualified to the regional but would go no further. “It’s really everybody’s first time except for Derek, who played last year as an individual, so it will be a new experience for everyone,” Edwards said. “We’re going to embrace it and are looking forward to playing well.” The top five teams and top two individuals who are not members of those squads will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, which are scheduled for May 28-June 2 in Atlanta, Ga. |
