May 14, 2004
SAN DIEGO -
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The Aztecs earned their sixth straight trip to the NCAA tournament and will compete in the West regional on May 20-22. SDSU will be playing the Crosswater Course at Sunriver Resort, Ore. for the second consecutive tournament as the MWC Championships were also held at the course. The regional tournament is 54-holes with 18 holes played each day.
* The top 10 teams in the 27-team field will advance to the NCAA Championships on June 2-5 in Hot Springs, Va. SDSU is attempting to reach the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season, a feat it has not accomplished since 1984-85. The Aztecs finished ninth a year ago to earn an invitation, and were edged out of a spot in a playoff with Texas Tech in 2002.
* Head coach Ryan Donovan will use the same starting five as he took to the conference championship, which marks only the second time all season SDSU has used the same lineup in back-to-back tournaments. Senior Mark Warman leads the way, followed by Aaron Goldberg, Andrew Scott, Jeff Hansen and Aaron Choi.
A Look At The Aztecs
* SDSU enters the NCAA regional as the No. 15 team in the field, according to the NCAA committee and the Golfstat listings. The Golfweek/Sagarin rankings have SDSU as No. 37 in the country, which puts them 12th among the tournament field.
* The Aztecs' roster depth keys their success (six top-five results in 2003-04) and is a major contributor to their inconsistency (four finishes of second or better, four results of eighth or worse). Senior Mark Warman leads the way with a 71.33 stroke average and seven top-10 finishes, including a second place finish at the MWC Championship. However, the next seven Aztecs have posted averages within two strokes of each other and six have recorded a top-20 finish as a starter. Freshman Aaron Goldberg has emerged as the Aztecs No. 2 golfer after winning the U.S. Intercollegiate and posting a 10th place finish at the MWC Championship.
* The final three lineup spots has been an attempt to find the hot man for head coach Ryan Donovan as he has sent out 10 different lineups in 12 events this season. However, Donovan believes he has found the right group as the same starting five are playing in back-to-back tournaments for only the second time this season.
* Junior Aaron Choi will be playing in his sixth straight tournament and is the only other Aztec with NCAA regional experience after playing in last year's event. Andrew Scott has earned a spot in the lineup in five of the seven spring tournaments and has responded with top-20 finishes in the last two competitions. Jeff Hansen will compete in his fourth tournament of the spring after winning the Oregon Duck Invitational and posting an 18th place finish at the MWC Championship.
The Field: At A Glance
* The Aztecs have posted a 24-38 combined record this season against the NCAA west regional field, which includes 10 of Golfstat's top 25 teams in the country. SDSU has faced each of the top 16 teams in the field and have at least one win against eight of them. The Aztecs have posted a 9-10 record against the 10th through 16th ranked teams in the field, including Pepperdine, Colorado State, Toledo, UTEP, Central Florida and Stanford, all of whom SDSU will be battling for championship bids.
* The MWC is well represented in the west regional with all five conference teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament in the field. BYU is the highest positioned conference foe in fifth, while MWC tournament champion UNLV is No. 7. New Mexico and Colorado State are the final two representatives at No. 9 and 11, respectively. The five MWC teams in the tournament is topped only by the Pac-10 who has seven schools.
* No. 1 UCLA enters as the defending champion and the tournament favorite having won seven times this season, including three of its last four events. However, the Bruins were defeated handily by both No. 3 Arizona and No. 2 Arizona State at the Pac-10 Championships.
* UNLV's Ryan Moore is coming off a medalist performance at the MWC Championships and is the top ranked individual in the field. Moore is the second ranked golfer in the country with a 69.02 Golfweek/Sagarin rating. Overall, the west regional has 16 of the top 50 golfers in the country including SDSU's Mark Warman.
NCAA Tournament History Lesson
* The Aztecs have played in 30 NCAA tournaments in the history of the program, with the first postseason appearance a 10th place finish in 1950. SDSU had a streak of 11 straight NCAA Championship appearances from 1974 to 1984, with the best finish coming in 1978 when the Aztecs placed 12th. Barry Malhberg recorded SDSU's best individual performance when he placed 16th in 1982.
* In 1989, the NCAA expanded its championship with the addition of a regional tournament. Since 1989, the Aztecs have competed in the regional tournament nine times, but only twice have they advanced to championship play, in 1999 and 2003. * After placing ninth in last year's regional, the Aztecs are looking for their first consecutive championship berths since 1983-84. SDSU tied for 10th in 2002 and lost to Texas Tech in a playoff for the final spot. SDSU recorded its best regional finish in 1999 when they placed fifth after shooting 875.
* Clemson is the defending national champion after winning its first men's golf national title in 2003. The last eight championships have been won by eight different schools and the last two years have had schools win their first title.
Warman's World
* Mark Warman is expecting big things entering his third trip to the NCAA Regionals. Warman has recorded top-20 finishes in each of the last two regionals, including an eighth place performance in 2002, which earned him an individual trip to nationals. Warman shot even-par 216 in 2002 and a two-over par 218 a year ago.
* Besides his NCAA tournament experience, Warman is also scoring well over the past month. Warman placed second at the MWC tournament, the second runner-up finish at the conference championships in his career, after shooting seven-under 209. He also shot one-under par 212 to finish ninth at the U.S. Intercollegiate to close out the regular season.
* After entering the season as one of Golf World's top players to watch on the year, SDSU senior Mark Warman has not disappointed. Warman earned All-MWC honors to become only the second player in conference history to earn the award three times. Warman is the only Aztec to earn MWC honors more than once.
* Warman has posted eight top-20 finishes in 11 tournaments and seven times has placed in the top 10 during his senior campaign. He also holds an outstanding 71.33 stroke average, which leads the team and ranked fifth in the MWC. Warman has been climbing the individual national rankings and has moved into 39th in Golfstat's report, and is ranked 50th by Golfweek.
* The senior has posted three top three finishes this spring. In addition to his MWC performance, Warman placed second at the Roadrunner Invitational at two-under 211 and third at the Oregon Duck Invitational by shooting three-under 213. Warman now has nine top-five finishes in his career.
Goldberg Stepping Up
* Freshman Aaron Goldberg has become a key contributor for the Aztecs in his first collegiate season. Goldberg cracked the lineup after winning the junior varsity Aztec Battle of the Lakes at the end of February and has earned a spot in the lineup in each of the last six events. Goldberg solidified his position by becoming only the second Aztec this season to earn a win when he fired an eight-under 205 at the U.S. Intercollegiate to take medalist honors in a field with UCLA, Texas, California and Stanford. Goldberg finished the tournament with a career-low 67 to take a four-stroke victory. His performance led SDSU to a second-place finish at the tournament.
* Goldberg followed the victory with a solid showing at the MWC Championships posting SDSU's second best score, a four-over par total of 220, to finish 10th overall. It was Goldberg's third top-30 finish in his last four tournaments.
Around The Green
* Each member of the starting five has posted at least a seventh-place finish this season. Goldberg and Hansen have both won varsity tournaments this season, while both Warman and Scott have posted runner-up finishes.
* Choi placed seventh to lead SDSU at the Border Olympics. In addition, he has posted three other top-20's and has shot par or better in seven of his last 15 competitive rounds. Other than Warman, Choi is the only other starter returning to the NCAAs from last year's squad.
* Hansen led SDSU to its only team title of the year by taking medalist honors at the Oregon Duck Invitational when he shot five-under 211.
*Andrew Scott recorded his best finish at the Fresno State Lexus Classic in the fall when he fired an SDSU season-best 11-under par 205 to lead the squad to a second place finish. Scott enters the tournament with back-to-back top-20 finishes, including an 11th place finish at the MWC Championship, and owns a 73.08 stroke average on the year.