Men's Golf Heads To NCAA Central Regional Championships
5/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 12, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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Site: Manhattan, KansasDates: May 15-17, 2003Tee Times: Two Sessions - 7:12 a.m. to 8:33 a.m. on holes 1 and 10 and 11:15 to 1:21 p.m. on holes No. 1 and 10.Host: Kansas State UniversityCourse: Colbert Hills Golf Course (par 72, 7,525 yards)Tournament Format: 72 holes total (18 holes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday)Tournament Field (27 Teams): Texas, TCU, Oklahoma State, North Carolina,Minnesota, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Northwestern, SMU, Baylor,Tulsa, Kentucky, Lamar, Toledo, Michigan State, Wichita State, North Texas, Texas A&M,Ohio State, Kent State, Texas Tech, Kansas, Missouri, Kansas State and Wright State; Individuals (6): Jeff Overton (Indiana), Brandon Brown (Eastern Kentucky),Peter Karmis (Purdue), Brett Jones (Louisville), Brett Callas (Houston), Stephen Carroll (Colorado)Live Scoring: Golfstat.com or msuspartans.com2002 NCAA Central Region Team Champion: Oklahoma State and Purdue2002 NCAA Central Region Individual Medalist: Lee Williamson, Purdue (70-67-72-209)
The Michigan State men's golf team makes its second-straight trip to the NCAA Regionals. The Spartans will head to Manhattan, Kan., for the NCAA Central Regional Championships at the Colbert Hills Golf Course from May 15-17. The top 10 teams and two individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 27-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
SEASON SPOTLIGHT - MSU has golfed in 11 tournaments this season, finishing in the top 10 in 10 of the 11 events including five top-five finishes. MSU won the Adams Cup of Newport (Oct. 8-9) and shared the team title at the Wolverine Invitational with Xavier (Oct. 5-6). In addition, MSU tied for third at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 16-17); placed third at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) and placed fourth at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational (April 26-27) for the team's other top-five finishes.
IN THE RANKINGS - Michigan State is ranked 54th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance ratings.
LAST TIME OUT - The Spartans finished seventh out of 11 teams at the Big Ten Championships May 2-4. MSU shot a 72-hole total of 1,168 (286-290-293-299) over the three-day event. The Spartans had three individuals placed in the top 20, including Eric Jorgensen (tied for 13th), Casey Lubahn (tied for 13th) and Ben Fox (tied for 18th).
THE HONOR SYSTEM - Senior Eric Jorgensen was selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team following the 2003 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships on Sunday (May 4). In doing so, Jorgensen became just the third MSU golfer to earn All-Big Ten honors twice in his career, joining Lynn Janson (1969 and 1970) and Heath Fell (1992, 1993 and 1994).
THE TEAM - Senior Eric Jorgensen paces MSU with a 73.21 stroke average, while Casey Lubahn is second with a 73.48 average. The duo have each posted seven top-20 finishes, including two top-10 showings apiece. Lubahn's top finish is a tie for fifth at the Northern Intercollegiate, while Jorgensen tied for seventh at the Big Red Classic for his best showing.
Sophomore Andrew Ruthkoski holds a 74.60 stroke average, junior Ben Fox carries a 74.91 stroke average and senior John Koskinen has a 75.83 stroke average. Koskinen led MSU with back-to-back top 10 showings at the Wolverine Invitational (tie for third) and the Adams Cup of Newport (tied for 10th) during the fall.
All told, MSU's five-player travel party has 27 top-20 finishes combined this season, including seven top-10 showings.
EXPERIENCE COUNTS - Four of MSU's five-player travel roster competed in last year's NCAA East Regional, including Eric Jorgensen, John Koskinen, Casey Lubahn and Andrew Ruthkoski. Jorgensen led MSU with an eighth-place tie with a 219 last year, while Ruthkoski carded a 227 (75-75-77). Koskinen (79-79-78) and Lubahn (80-79-77) each finished with a 236. This will be Ben Fox's first-ever NCAA appearance.
2002 NCAA EAST REGIONAL - Michigan State placed 16th after shooting a 914 (308-305-301) at the 2002 NCAA East Regional, which was held at the Ansley Golf Club's Settin' Down Creek in Roswell, Ga. The Spartans were led by Eric Jorgensen, who advanced to the NCAA Championships as an individual, after finishing in an eighth-place tie with a 219 (75-72-72).
MSU ALL-TIME AT NCAA REGIONALS - This marks MSU's fifth trip to the NCAA Regionals as the 1992, 1993, 1994, 2002 and 2003 teams advanced. MSU's best-ever showing is an eighth-place finish in 1993, when Heath Fell won the Central Regional crown with a 214.
WHAT A SUMMER - Senior Eric Jorgensen had a summer to remember in 2002. He won the 102nd North and South Amateur tournament at the famed Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. The tournament is the longest running amateur event in the United States. It also gave him an automatic exemption into the match play portion of this year's event at Pinehurst.