Posted: May 08, 2024
GAINESVILLE, GA -- For the first time since 2017, the Coker men's golf team will open play in the NCAA DII South-Southeast Super Regional on Thursday at the Chattahoochee Golf Club.
As usual, the field will be the strongest of the year. Fifteen of the 20 participating teams are ranked in the Top 25 nationally and only the top five will advance to the NCAA DII Championship later this month on the Crooked Cat Course at Orlando County National Golf Club.
"This is the toughest test of the year and we are excited to be here duking it out with the best teams in the nation," Coker head coach John Hackney said. "Our guys are ready. We have beaten almost all of these teams on given days and have had an excellent season. We want to keep it going."
The Southeast side of the regional includes eight of the top 22 teams in the country, including four from the South Atlantic Conference. Two weeks ago, No. 2 Lincoln Memorial rallied past Coker to win the SAC Tournament, with the No. 21 Cobras taking second. No. 27 Wingate and No. 34 Lenoir-Rhyne are also representing the SAC.
No. 1 North Georgia, LMU, No. 4 Georgia Southwestern, No. 7 USC Aiken, No. 11 Lander, No. 15 Barton, Coker, and No. 22 Columbus State also made it from the Southeast. North Georgia is the tournament host and has been ranked No. 1 all season after winning five tournaments.
The South side of the regional includes No. West Florida, No, 10 Lee, No. 12 Nova Southeastern (the defending National Champ), No. 13 Saint Leo, No. 23 Shorter, No. 24 Barry, No. 30 Union (TN), No. 32 Tampa and No. 155 Miles College.
All 20 teams and eight qualifying individuals not on participating teams have an 11:30 a.m. shotgun practice round on Wednesday. The tournament will include three 18-hole rounds on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and can be followed live on www.golfstat.com.
Representing Coker will be super senior Killian Ryan (England), senior Caleb Tidd (Indiana), senior Jonathan Hallinger (Sweden), senior Aaron Teece (Texas), and junior Derek McGlaughlin (Pennsylvania). Sophomore Max Barclay (Scotland) is on the trip as an alternate.
"We have a very experienced group of talented young men who have played some very consistent golf all season," Hackney said. "We play one of the nation's toughest schedules, so we believe we have a great chance to earn Coker's second-ever berth to the National Championship. We just need to focus on every shot, trust the work we have put in and remember to have fun!"