Headed to Raleigh: B-CU Cats Earn 13-Seed in NCAA Regional

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- With its automatic bid from winning the inaugural Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship last week, the Bethune-Cookman University men’s golf team will travel to the Lonnie Poole Golf Club in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the 2014 NCAA Regional being held May 15-17.

Bethune-Cookman earns the No. 13 seed in the 13-team field that includes Atlantic Coast Conference champion Georgia Tech as the regional’s top seed. Other participating teams include Washington, Florida State, Texas A&M, Mercer, Kentucky, Texas Tech, Wake Forest, South Alabama, Memphis, Minnesota and Rice.

“Lonnie Poole is a long course suited for our guys since they hit long,” said B-CU Director of Golf Loritz “Scooter” Clark. “They’re looking forward to it because they want to extend the season as long as they can. They were pumped after the announcement, and immediately went to the range to start hitting after the show.”

Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 15-17.  Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.

The NCAA Regional will take place at Lonnie Poole Golf Club, an 18-hole, 7,358-yard course designed by Arnold Palmer and the design team at Arnold Palmer Design Company. The purpose of the facility is to provide a public golf course on the Centennial Campus of NC State University that serves as a venue for the men's and women's varsity golf teams.

For Bethune-Cookman, the upcoming trip will mark the first of its kind to the NCAA postseason as a team. The only other participation in NCAA postseason events for men’s golf has been individual performances in 1999 (Philip Worthington) and last year with current sophomore Ryan Fricker.

“I have to make sure the guys pace themselves, especially with the National Minority Championships coming up this weekend,” said Clark. “They want to give 200 percent for both events, but I need to make sure they don’t run out of gas by the time the NCAA Regional comes around. I kno
w it sounds cliché, but I don’t want them to peak too soon.”

For news and results on the B-CU men’s golf team, log on to BCUathletics.com and follow the team (@BCUgolf) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with the hashtag, #bcugolf. Make sure to “Like Us” on Facebook at BCUathletics.


COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS