Texas Tech University Athletics
Men's Golf Qualifies for NCAA Regional
May 10, 2004 | Men's Golf
May 10, 2004
LUBBOCK, Texas - For the third-straight season under fourth-year head coach Greg Sands, the Texas Tech men's golf team is headed to the NCAA tournament at the 27-team Central Regional in West Lafayette, Ind., May 20-22. The No. 34 Red Raiders are the No. 12 seed in the regional, which consists of seven teams ranked among the nation's top 25, including (9) Oklahoma State, (13) Texas, (24) Kansas and (25) Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference. Purdue University will serve as the regional host at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.
The top 10 teams from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at the Cascades Golf Course in Hot Springs, Va. Virginia Tech will serve as host of the 2004 championships.
"This is another stepping stone on the path to where we want to be," Sands said. "The hard work of our players has paid off and put us in a position to reach our goal of advancing to the national championships. If we play like we're capable, we can make that happen. We have done this three years in a row, so we expect to be in regional play. We just need to take the next step."
The Red Raiders endured a five-year hiatus from NCAA tournament action before Sands was named head coach in 2000. In his second season, the Red Raiders survived regional action and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 26 years. Tech fell short in last year's regional play.
Sophomore Andrew Dresser, who is ranked 55th nationally, leads the team and is ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference with a 71.37 stroke average and is less than one stroke behind the league leader. Freshman Oscar Floren ranks 12th in the conference with a 72.56 stroke average.
Fans can view results throughout the NCAA Central Regional by logging onto Texas Tech's official athletics website at www.texastech.com and clicking on the link "Live Stats" under Men's Golf in the Upcoming Events calendar.
The Red Raiders, who finished in a fifth-place tie at the Big 12 Championships last week, will compete in The Maxwell in Ardmore, Okla., as a tune-up for their NCAA appearance.
CENTRAL REGIONALBirck Boilermaker Golf Course in West Lafayette, IndianaHosted by Purdue University
Teams (National Rank): 1. Oklahoma State (9) 2. Texas (13) 3. TCU (10) 4. Minnesota (12) 5. Oklahoma (25) 6. Kentucky (22) 7. Arkansas (28) 8. Kansas (24) 9. Tulsa (32) 10. Colorado (29) 11. Southern Methodist (30) 12. Texas Tech (34) 13. Kansas State (39) 14. Baylor (46) 15. Texas A&M (40) 16. Xavier (55) 17. Illinois (43) 18. Ohio State 19. Purdue (48) 20. Kent State (47) 21. Wichita State (53) 22. Indiana (49) 23. Lamar (64) 24. Notre Dame (90) 25. Princeton (133) 26. Western Illinois (162) 27. Jackson State (198)
Players Mentioned
