Michigan Earns Invitation to NCAA Washington Regional

May 4, 2015

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan men’s golf team will return to the NCAA postseason for the first time in four years after receiving its seventh invitation to an NCAA Regional today (Monday, May 4). The Wolverines will be the No. 9 seed in the 14-team Washington Regional. The event will be held Thursday through Saturday, May 14-16, at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington.

After two individual regional appearances in 2012 (Matt Thompson) and 2014 (Chris O’Neill), the Wolverines return as a team to a postseason regional for the first time in since winning the 2011 Central Regional and advancing to their 22nd NCAA Finals.

The full listing for the NCAA Washington Regional includes No. 1 seed South Carolina, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Southern Cal, No. 4 Baylor, No. 5 UAB, No. 6 TCU, No. 7 Iowa State, No. 8 Sam Houston State, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 UC Davis, No. 11 VCU, No. 12 Pepperdine, No. 13 Cleveland State and No. 14 South Dakota. There will be five individuals competitors in the Washington Regional: Byron Meth (Pacific), Jose Mendez (Minnesota), Alex Franklin (Oregon State), Jordan Rodgers (BYU) and James Fahy (Gonzaga).

There will be six total regional sites played Thursday through Saturday, May 14-16. From each regional the top five teams and low individual not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held Friday through Wednesday, May 29-June 3, at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.

Overall, eight Big Ten Conference teams will be represented at an NCAA Regional, with six teams invited and two individuals. In addition to U-M, Big Ten champion Illinois is the No. 1 seed at the Indiana Regional, No. 7 seed Iowa and No. 9 seed Ohio State will compete at the Connecticut Regional, No. 10 seed Purdue will play in the Texas Regional, and No. 11 seed Penn State will play at the North Carolina Regional. Individually, Maryland’s David Kocher will play in the California Regional, while Minnesota’s Jose Mendez will join the Wolverines at the Washington Regional.

Michigan posted five top-five finishes in its 11 events, including winning the Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 6-7) and collecting runner-up finishes at the Big Ten Match Play Championship (Feb. 14-15) and the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 6-7).

Michigan is led by freshman Kyle Mueller and junior Chris O’Neill, who were the only Wolverines to start all 11 events. Mueller, who earned second team All-Big Ten honors, has finished as the top Wolverine in seven events, including a win in his first collegiate start, the Wolverine Intercollegiate. He leads the team with nine sub-par rounds and is averaging a team-best 72.90 strokes per round, which is on pace to set the U-M freshman record for scoring.

O’Neill, who was the top Wolverine in four events, is second on the team with a 73.19 scoring average. He had three top-20 finishes and led the Maize and Blue at the Big Ten Championships (April 24-26), finishing 17th with a career-best 295 total. Sophomore Reed Hrynewich is having a career year as he has lowered his scoring average by one and a half strokes to a career-best 74.46. He has two top-20 finishes, including leading U-M with a tie for 14th at the Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 22-24).

The NCAA regional selection marks U-M’s 37th NCAA postseason appearance and the program’s seventh team regional since the format changed to regional play. The Wolverines have participated in five Central Regionals (1995, ’97, 2000, ’08, ’10) and one Southwest Regional (2009).

2015 NCAA WASHINGTON REGIONAL

Gold Mountain Golf Club (par 72, 7,115 yards)

Hosted by Washington (Bremerton, Wash.)

Teams

1. South Carolina

2. Washington

3. Southern Cal

4. Baylor

5. UAB

6. TCU

7. Iowa State

8. Sam Houston State