Ospreys Capture NCAA Golf Regional in Record Fashion

Saturday, May 18

Tallahassee, Fla.

All Day

University of North Florida

NCAA Tallahassee Regional (FSU)

Photo by: Todd Drexler

5/18/2013 6:00:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results (pdf)
Live Scoring/Other NCAA Regional Results

Tallahassee, Fla. – The No. 18-ranked University of North Florida men's golf team made program history Saturday claiming the team title of the 2013 NCAA Tallahassee Regional held at Golden Eagle Country Club.

With the victory, UNF advances to the NCAA Championship on May 28-June 2 at Atlanta's Capital City Club – Crabapple Course. It will be the Ospreys second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships and the third trip in the last four seasons.

The Ospreys posted a final round 281 (-7) en route to a championship winning total of 830 (-34), setting a new 54-hole record for the program. The victory marked the second consecutive tournament title for UNF and third team championship of the spring season.

UNF also became the first Atlantic Sun Conference team to capture an NCAA Golf Regional championship. In addition, North Florida established new A-Sun records in postseason tournament play for both 54-hole total and single round relation to par score during the event.

Sophomore MJ Maguire, the medalist at the Atlantic Sun Championship, led a trio of Ospreys among the Top Five individuals, earning a runner-up tie with FSU's Chase Seiffert at 204 (-12). Maguire's total marked a career best and included a personal best 65 in the opening round.

Joining Maguire among the medalist leaders were seniors Kevin Phelan and Sean Dale, who tied for fifth with scores of 206 (-10). Dale, the 2013 Atlantic Sun Golfer of the Year, carded a 69 (-3) to pace the Ospreys on the final day, while Phelan fired a two-under 70 on Saturday.

Sophomore Joey Petronio finished tied for 35th at 218 (+2) including an even par 72 on the last day, and redshirt freshman Taylor Hancock capped off his tie for 42nd (220/+4) with his second round under par of the week (71/-1), in rounding out the Osprey lineup.

“I am extremely proud of and happy for our players and staff,” said UNF head coach Scott Schroeder. “We played really solid today and had a total team effort. Every guy in our lineup shot par or better in the final round and that is a pretty good accomplishment. We are definitely looking forward to getting back to the NCAA Championship in Atlanta and will be ready to continue working towards more of our goals.”

The Ospreys entered the final round with a two-shot advantage on No. 6-ranked and regional top seed Washington, but traded the lead with the Huskies throughout the final 18 holes and were even tied with them heading into the final two holes of play.

Dale birdied the 18th hole giving UNF a one-shot lead, while Phelan added a par on the final hole to maintain the margin with one group remaining. Maguire, who struggled with a pair of double-bogeys on the front nine, closed with a flurry making birdie on his final four holes to secure the historic win.

Advancing to the NCAA Championship with UNF will be runner-up Washington along with Florida State, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma, who outlasted South Florida in a team playoff for the fifth spot. UW finished with a final score of 833 followed by FSU (836), Georgia Tech (849), Oklahoma/South Florida (854), Oregon State (855), Oregon (856), North Carolina State (874), Wake Forest (878), Iowa (883), San Diego (890) and Loyola (Md.) at 892.

Washington's Cheng-Tsung Pan was the individual medalist after posting a three-round 201 (-15). Richmond's Daniel Walker, who finished tied for second at 204, advances to the NCAA Championship as an individual after finishing as the top performer not a member of an advancing team.

The top five teams at the other five NCAA Regional sites will join the Tallahassee qualifiers for a 54-hole medal play event followed by an eight-team match play event to decide the national championship.