Ospreys head to NCAA Regional

The University of North Florida golf team heads to an NCAA Regional for the first time this week since 2001, looking for a top-10 finish in Chattanooga, Tenn., to keep its 2007-08 season going.

UNF clinched a spot in the NCAA East regional after capturing the Atlantic Sun Championship on April 23 in Braselton, Ga.

The task this week won't be an easy one for UNF, which is ranked 44^th in the latest Golfstat rankings. However, a tough schedule throughout the year has the Ospreys prepared for the competition it will see at Council Fire Golf Club. UNF is seeded 15^th in the 27 team field and must deal with top-10 teams Georgia (1), Charlotte (5) and South Carolina (7).

The top-10 teams in the tournament will move onto the NCAA Championship in West Lafayette, Ind. UNF's last appearance at the NCAA Championship was during the 1999-2000 season.

Golfstat Rankings: Click here

Stats: Click here

Schedule: May 15-17 (3 rounds, 18 holes per day)

Live Scoring: Click here

Last regional appearance: UNF finished the 2001 NCAA regional in 26^th place with a three-round score of 915. The Ospreys opened the event at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., with a 298 before shooting rounds of 311 and 306. John Limanti led the Ospreys with a tie for 65^th, opening the event with a 70 before shooting rounds of 78 and 79.

Notables: Jeff Dennis is the only Osprey with NCAA Regional experience after he qualified as an individual for the NCAA East Regional last year … Michael O'Neal is UNF's highest ranked player, coming into this week ranked 66^th in the latest Golfstat individual rankings … O'Neal was named a second team All-Atlantic Sun selection this season as well as the UNF Scholar Athlete and Male Athlete of the Year … Scott Schroeder was named the Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year last week in a vote compiled by conference coaches and sports information personnel … the field at this week's regional includes 12 conference champions and 15 at-large teams … UNF will play its first two rounds with Mississippi State and Georgia State, teeing off Thursday at 1:05 p.m. and Friday morning at 8:35 a.m.

UNF Starting Five (alphabetical order):

Course: Council Fire Golf Club (Par 71, 6,961 yards)

Field (arranged by seeding): 1. Georgia, 2. Charlotte, 3. South Carolina, 4. Duke, 5. Chattanooga, 6. Auburn, 7. East Tennessee State, 8. Michigan State, 9. Mississippi, 10. UAB, 11. Virginia Tech, 12. North Carolina State, 13. Mississippi State, 14. Georgia State, 15. UNF, 16. UC Irvine, 17. Augusta State, 18. SMU, 19. Middle Tennessee, 20. Coastal Carolina, 21. Memphis, 22. Virginia, 23. Western Carolina, 24. Colorado State, 25. New Mexico State, 26. Western Illinois, 27. Jackson State

Quoting Coach Schroeder

“This will be a big challenge for us this week. We have enough talent to play well enough to move on to the finals. If we do a good job during the practice round in getting a feel for the course and then deal with the adversity when we hit bad shots, we will be right there. I know we can do it and the players know we can, so now we just have to go out and execute.”

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