HARTSVILLE, S. C. – It is official. The Coker men's golf team has advanced to the NCAA Division Men's Golf Tournament as announced by the NCAA Division II Golf Committee on Friday, April 27. The Cobras victory at the Conference Carolinas Championship earned them an automatic bid to the regional tournament.
The NCAA Division II field features 80 teams and 32 individual student-athletes overall. 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 Golf Course in Louisville, Ky.
The NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship will be part of the 2012 NCAA Division II Spring National Championships festival. The event, which will be hosted by Bellarmine and the Louisville Sports Commission, will feature six Division II national championships including men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, softball and men's and women's tennis.
The NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional will be contested Monday, May 7-Wednesday, May 9 at the par-72, 7,064-yard Jones Course at the Rock Barn Golf and Spa in Conover, N.C.
The South/Southeast Regional consists of 10 teams each from both the South and Southeast regions of NCAA Division II. The top four individuals from each region not with a team were also selected.
The 2012 South/Southeast Regional is being hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne.
The three-day, 54-hole regional will feature one round each day. Action begins each day at 7:30 a.m.
Coker is making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2009. The last time Coker won the conference title (2006) they advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship.
The Cobras have finished in the top five in six of their 10 tournaments so far in the 2011-12 season.
Coker's best finish came in claiming the Conference Carolinas Championship on Tuesday, April 24.
This is the third time that the Coker men have earned a bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament under head coach Tommy Baker's leadership. They finished fifth in the region in 2008 and were 11th in 2009.
South/Southeast Regional | Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, N.C. | Hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne
SOUTHEAST TEAMS
UNC Pembroke
USC Aiken
Georgia College
Wingate
Georgia Southwestern
Armstrong
Carson-Newman
Barton
Columbus State
Coker
SOUTHEAST INDIVIDUALS
Adam Hedge, Belmont Abbey
Eric Kennedy, Lincoln Memorial
Matthew Campbell, Newberry
Greg Mergel, Flagler
SOUTH TEAMS
Nova Southeastern
Barry
Lynn
North Alabama
West Florida
Florida Southern
Rollins
Florida Tech
Eckerd
Valdosta State
SOUTH INDIVIDUALS
Nick Brothers, Saint Leo
Bryn Powers, West Georgia
Grant Goforth, Delta State
Luke Brown, Delta State
NCAA Division II Men's Golf Regional Field - Click Link to Access