May 14, 2008

NCAA East Regional Notes

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's golf team begins the 2008 NCAA East Regional on Thursday at the Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. The regional will extend until Saturday with 18 holes being played each day.

The Spartans, who are currently ranked No. 20 by Golfweek/Sagarin, begin play on Thursday at 12:17 p.m. MSU, fresh off its third Big Ten Championship, has five-straight top-five placements and has eight in 11 events this season.

The top-10 finishers from each of the three regions 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.

The Spartans, who were selected as the eighth seed, are among the 27 schools competing in the east region. 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.

This is Michigan State's eighth regional appearance, including five of the last seven seasons. It is their second time in the east regional (2002). Last season at the central regional, the Spartans tied for their best finish with an eighth-place showing (1993).

Two Spartans have previous regional experience, as senior Ryan Brehm is preparing for his fourth appearance, while sophomore Jack Newman competed in last year's tournament. Joining the pair will be junior Randy Hutchison, and freshmen Graham Baillargeon and Payne Gniewek.