May 5, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The No. 26 UAB men's golf team, fresh off its first-ever Conference USA title, earned an automatic berth to the 111th NCAA Men's Golf Championship, announced the NCAA Men's Golf Committee on Monday afternoon. The Blazers will compete in the East Regional in Chattanooga, Tenn. at The Council Fire Golf Club on May 15-17.

It marks the Blazers' seventh NCAA appearance in program history and the sixth trip to a Regional in the last 10 seasons under head coach Alan Kaufman.

"I am excited to be back in the NCAAs and look forward to competing against some of the best teams in the country," Kaufman said. "If we can play the way we did at the Conference USA Championships, then we will have a shot to advance to the Nationals. I am very proud of this team and the improvement the guys have made throughout the season."

The Blazers will face some of the stiffest competition they have competed against all year, including the tournament's No. 1 overall seed in Georgia. Also competing in the East Regional will be No. 9 Charlotte, No. 12 South Carolina, tournament host No. 13 Chattanooga and No. 14 Duke, among others.

Three 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 15-17. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each regional site. Ten teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals.

The championships will be conducted May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University is the host institution for this year's championships.

Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the championships. Teams winning automatic qualification are designated by their conferences in parentheses.

EAST REGIONAL- May 15-17
Council Fire Golf Club - Chattanooga, Tennessee
Hosted by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia
2. Charlotte (Atlantic 10 Conference)
3. South Carolina
4. Duke
5. Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
6. Auburn
7. East Tennessee State
8. Michigan State (Big Ten Conference)
9. Mississippi
10. UAB (Conference USA)
11. Virginia Tech
12. North Carolina State
13. Mississippi State
14. Georgia State (Colonial Athletic Conference)
15. North Florida (Atlantic Sun Conference)
16. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
17. Augusta State
18. SMU
19. Middle Tennessee
20. Coastal Carolina (Big South Conference)
21. Memphis
22. Virginia
23. Western Carolina
24. Colorado State (Mountain West Conference)
25. New Mexico State (Western Athletic Conference)
26. Western Illinois (The Summit League)
27. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference)

Individuals:
1. Keegan Bradley, St. John's (New York)
2. Jose Toledo, New Orleans
3. Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama
4. Michael McGrady, Troy
5. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt
6. Grant Leaver, Austin Peay State

CENTRAL REGIONAL-May 15-17
Scarlet Golf Course - Columbus, Ohio
Hosted by The Ohio State University

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Alabama (Southeastern Conference)
2. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)
3. Georgia Tech
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Lamar (Southland Conference)
7. Wake Forest
8. Indiana
9. Texas A&M
10. Louisville
11. Wichita State (Missouri Valley Conference)
12. Kent State
13. Penn State
14. Arkansas
15. Michigan
16. TCU
17. Texas-Arlington
18. Illinois
19. Ohio State
20. Baylor
21. Colorado
22. Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley Conference)
23. Marquette (Big East Conference)
24. Eastern Michigan (Mid-American Conference)
25. Cleveland State (Horizon League)
26. Loyola (Maryland) (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
27. Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)

Individuals:
1. Chris Baker, Iowa State
2. Clayton Rask, Minnesota
3. Josh Sandman, Notre Dame
4. Victor Almstrom, Minnesota
5. Brent Long, Western Kentucky
6. Jordan Weber, Northern Iowa

WEST REGIONAL-May 15-17
Gold Mountain Golf Club - Bremerton, Washington
Hosted by University of Washington

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Southern California
2. UCLA
3. Florida State (Atlantic Coast Conference)
4. Stanford
5. Clemson
6. UNLV
7. North Carolina
8. Texas Tech
9. UCF
10. Arizona State (Pacific-10 Conference)
11. San Diego State
12. Texas
13. LSU
14. Oregon State
15. Pepperdine
16. Oregon
17. California
18. St. Mary's (California)
19. Kentucky
20. Wisconsin
21. Washington
22. Oklahoma
23. Kansas State
24. San Diego (West Coast Conference)
25. Denver (Sun Belt Conference)
26. Navy (The Patriot League)
27. Columbia (Ivy Group)

Individuals:
1. Troy Merritt, Boise State
2. Brian Locke, Loyola Marymount
3. Tarquin Macmanus, Arizona
4. Jason D'Amore, Loyola Marymount
5. Nathan Stamey, North Carolina-Greensboro
6. Jimmy Lytle, Elon