May 5, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Fresh off its third Big Ten Championship title in four years, the Michigan State men's golf team was an automatic qualifier for the 2008 NCAA East Regional Championship, announced this afternoon on a conference call by the NCAA offices. Competition will be held May 15-17 at the Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

With the Big Ten title, the Spartans are riding a wave of five-straight top-five finishes and have totaled eight in 11 events this season, including two wins. Individually, the Spartans have five titles, led by four from senior Ryan Brehm, who set a new single-season record in wins. Michigan State has had great depth all season, as five MSU golfers have posted a top-three finish, while seven have finished among the top-10.

Michigan State has appeared in the NCAA regionals in five of the last seven seasons and has totaled eight appearances dating back to 1992. The Spartans tied their best finish last season, finishing eighth to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

The Spartans, who are currently ranked No. 20 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, are among the 27 schools selected to the east region, hosted by Tennessee-Chattanooga. Joining MSU is No. 2 Georgia, No. 9 Charlotte, No. 12 South Carolina, No. 13 Chattanooga, No. 14 Duke, No. 16 Auburn, No. 21 East Tennessee State, No. 28 UAB, No. 31 Mississippi, No. 32 NC State, No. 34 Virginia Tech, No. 38 Mississippi State, No. 45 North Florida, No. 47 Georgia State, No. 49 UC Irvine, No. 50 Augusta State, SMU, Middle Tennessee State, Coastal Carolina, Memphis, Virginia, Western Carolina, Colorado State, New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Jackson State.

In all, 81 schools and 18 individuals were selected this afternoon, split among the west, east and central regions. The central region will be held at The Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, while the west is hosted at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.

The top-10 finishers from each region will advance to the 111th NCAA Championship, held on May 20-23 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. All-time, MSU has participated in 16 NCAA Championships.