Western gets No.2 seed at West Regional on May 1-3 :: Vikings making eighth straight appearance, look to defend title

April 24, 2006

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - For the eighth straight year since becoming a full member of NCAA Division II, the Western Washington University men's golf team will be competing in the West Regional. The defending champion Vikings have been selected as the No.2 seed for the 54-hole event, which takes place May 1-3 at The Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.

The tournament is being held in conjunction with the Northwest Regional as one of five super regionals taking place across the country.

Each regional is made up of eight schools and five additional individuals from non-qualifying schools. The winning school in each region earns an automatic berth to the NCAA II National Championships at Daniels, West Virginia, on May 16-19. The next four teams in the West/Northwest Super Regional also qualify for at-large berths at nationals. In addition, the top individual in each super region from schools not qualifying for nationals earns an individual berth to the national tourney.

For the second straight year, Cal State Bakersfield is the No.1 seed in the West Regional, followed by Western, Cal State Stanislaus, Sonoma State, Saint Martin's, host Grand Canyon, Cal State San Bernardino and Hawaii Hilo.

All eight teams are ranked among the top 25 nationally in the latest Golf Coaches Association of America/Bridgestone NCAA II Coaches Poll. Cal State Bakersfield is No.2, Western No.6, Cal State Stanislaus No.8, Sonoma State No.12, Hawaii Hilo No.20, Grand Canyon No.23, Saint Martin's No.24 and Cal State San Bernardino No.25.

In the Golfstat rating, Western is No.6 nationally, with Cal State Bakersfield No.2, Cal State Stanislaus No.7, Sonoma State No.16, Cal State San Bernardino No.18, Saint Martin's No.20, Grand Canyon No.21 and Hawaii Hilo No.22.

Last spring, the Vikings won the regional title and went on to place ninth at nationals for the second straight year. It was their fifth national appearance in seven seasons, placing as high as sixth in 2000.

"We're looking forward to playing in some good conditions," said Western coach Steve Card (13th year), who took West Region Coach of the Year honors in 2005. "It's been a tough spring weather wise. It will be nice to see what our uniforms actually look like rather than rain gear. Anytime that we've played in good conditions, our team has played well."

The Vikings won two tournaments during the fall portion of their schedule, and have finished no lower than fourth in eight of their nine tourneys. But in their last tournament at Cal State Stanislaus, they tied for eighth.

"We played poorly there, which had me a bit concerned," Card said. "But that has actually spurred our players on to practice a little harder. The match we played with Saint Martin's and Washington after that was a positive experience for us and the practices we've had since then have been very productive."

Western is led by first-team All-American Tim Feenstra (Sr., Lynden), who took medalist honors at last year's regional and tied for 10th place at nationals. Feenstra, who was a third-team All-American in 2003, ranks 10th nationally among Division II players with a 72.8 scoring average.

Teammate Sean Packer (So., Sumner/Auburn-Riverside) is 26th nationally with a 73.4 average.

Western's Luke Bennett (Sr., Bellingham/Sehome), who received third-team All-America recognition in 2005, has a 74.0 scoring average. Rounding out the team are Kevin Lim (Fr., Woodinville) 77.7 and Sam Pauley (Jr., Everett/Kamiak/Everett CC) 77.4.

Feenstra and Bennett were both West Region all-stars last season, and both are making their fourth trip to regionals. It is the second regional appearance for Packer, who was a redshirt last season.

"Our guys have been there before and they're prepared for it," said Card. "They know where they stand in the region and that should give them confidence going into the event ... But we're going to have to bring our "A" game because it's a tough region and top teams have been upset before and we don't want to be one of those casualties."

Saint Martin's Shane Prante is the No.3-ranked individual in NCAA II with a 72.0 scoring average. Ryan Thornberry from Cal State Stanislaus is No.8 (72.6) and D.J. Fernando from Cal State Bakersfield is No.9 (72.4).

Super Regional selections announced

INDIANAPOLIS -- Eighty teams and fifty individuals have been selected to participate in the 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships super regionals.

The super regionals will be conducted May 1-3. The sites and teams selected to participate are listed below. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in brackets next to the institution's name. The five super regional tournaments encompass the current ten regions.

The top team from each region within the super regional and the top individual not with a team from each super regional (regardless of region) will advance to the finals May 16-19 at The Resort at Glade Springs in Daniels, West Virginia. The finals will be hosted by Concord University and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Ten additional teams will earn berths to the finals. These teams will be determined based on the previous three-year average of top-10 finishes of a super regional at the finals. For the 2006 championships, the additional super regional allotments are as follows:

Atlantic/Southeast - Three South/South Central - Three West/Northwest - Four

NORTHEAST/EAST SUPER REGIONAL Speidel Golf Club; Wheeling, West Virginia; hosted by West Liberty State College.

Northeast Region: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas 2. Bryant [Northeast-10 Conference] 3. Post [Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference] 4. Southern New Hampshire 5. Goldey-Beacom 6. Pace 7. Dominican (New York) 8. Le Moyne

Individuals: 1. Jonathan Carr, Nyack 2. Jamie Bacon, Saint Rose 3. Brent Silano, New Haven 4. Joe Ingolia, Dowling 5. John Purple, Wilmington (Delaware)

East Region: 1. Ohio Valley 2. Charleston (West Virginia) 3. Concord 4. Clarion [Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference] 5. Fairmont State [West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference] 6. Indiana (Pennsylvania) 7. West Liberty State 8. West Virginia Wesleyan

Individuals: 1. Bryan Snow, Shepherd 2. Matt Schwalm, Wheeling Jesuit 3. Corey Gast, Millersville 4. Brett Hambleton, Wheeling Jesuit 5. Pete Steffy, Millersville