May 4, 2009

Indianapolis, Ind. - The University of Illinois, the automatic qualifier from the Big Ten, will be headed to Galloway, N.J., to compete in the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regional Tournament. The event held May 14-16 at the Galloway National Golf Club will be hosted by Columbia University.

Illinois, who is ranked 12th in the Golfweek rankings and 15th in the latest Golfstat Computer Rankings, is the number three seed at the 14-team Regional, behind top-seeded Clemson and no. 2 Alabama. The rest of the field includes no. 4 Tennessee, no. 5 Wake Forest, no. 6 Colorado State, no. 7 Kent State, no. 8 Coastal Carolina, no. 9 Virginia, no. 10 Penn State, no. 11 Minnesota, no. 12 VCU, no. 13 Columbia, and no. 14 Sacred Heart.

A total of 81 teams qualify for NCAA Regionals, competing at six different sites, three with 14 teams and three with 13 teams. The top five teams from each Regional advance to the 30-team NCAA Championship May 26-30 at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio.

The top seeds at the other Regionals included Stanford at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas; USC at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif., Georgia at Red Tail Golf Club in Sorento, Fla.; Washington at the Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.; and Oklahoma State at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

Illinois is one of nine Big Ten teams to advance to the post-season. Besides Penn State and Minnesota in the Galloway Regional, Michigan is the eighth seed at Austin; Indiana is the second seed and Iowa the 11th seed in Sorento; Ohio State is the ninth seed in Bowling Green; and Michigan State is the seventh seed and Northwestern the ninth seed in Stillwater.

"We will get the privilege of playing on a great course against some of the golf powers," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "It will definitely be a challenge, but having faced a difficult schedule, one I believe we'll be prepared for. We're excited to once again be playing in the post-season."

For the complete field, visit ncaa.com