March 20, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Aztec Men's Golf Ready For Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship
Just four days after its second place showing at the Barona Collegiate Cup, the San Diego State men's golf team is ready to hit the links again as the men compete in the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship, March 22-24. SDSU's success in 2007-08 has paid dividends for the 2008-09 squad, as the Aztecs were awarded an invitation to play in the exclusive Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championships at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. SDSU will join 15 other top-ranked men's golf programs at the prestigious event this weekend. The three-day tournament is hosted by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The Scarlet and Black, ranked No. 30 in the latest Golfstat standings, will be paired with Chattanooga, Duke and UC Irvine for the first two medal play rounds on Sunday, March 22. Host school San Diego, Alabama, Indiana and Texas Tech will start five thru nine. Holes 10 thru 13 will feature Florida State, Stanford, Texas A&M and UCLA. The final grouping of Arizona State, Charlotte, Louisville and Middle Tennessee will start play on Nos. 14-18.
Play begins Sunday morning at 8:15 a.m. with a shotgun start in first-round medal matches. The second medal round matches will start at approximately 1:30 p.m. that same day. The top eight finishing teams from medal play will advance to the championship bracket of match play.
Live scoring for the tournament will be available via Golfstat and a live scoring link will be available on the home page of GoAztecs.com.
This Week's Lineup
Head coach Ryan Donovan will send five of the six members of last week's team that finished second at the Barona Collegiate Cup to compete at the match play championship. Sophomores Johan Carlsson and Matt Hoffenberg, who have competed in every event for the Aztecs this spring, will lead the way for the San Diego State squad. The lineup also includes freshmen Andrew Cooley and Alex Kang, who have also participated in each tournament during the 2009 spring season. Junior Bryan Martin, meanwhile, rounds out the Aztec group as he makes his second appearance of the spring this week at The Farms Golf Club.
The Field
No. 75 San Diego will serve as host for the 2009 event. In addition to the 30th-ranked Aztecs and Toreros, the field includes Alabama (No. 7), Arizona State (33rd), Charlotte (No. 42), Chattanooga (No. 28), Duke (39th), Florida State (No. 22), Indiana (No. 6), Louisville (41st), Middle Tennessee State (No. 73), Stanford (No. 5), Texas A&M (27th), Texas (10th), UC Irvine (No. 47), while defending champion UCLA (26th) wraps up the competition.
The Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship is an invitation-only event. The field is comprised of the top 10 ranked schools as of Feb. 22, 2008 in the GCAA Coaches Poll. Two sponsor exemptions were also awarded, and the field is completed with the next top four teams from the 2008 NCAA Division I championships not already among the field.
A Look at the New Format
Officials have altered the format for the Callaway Golf Collegiate Match Play Championship after taking into account the proposed changes to the Division I championships. Originally conceived as a true match play event, the Callaway Golf Collegiate Match Play Championship will now contain both a medal and match play component. The 16 participating teams will play 36 holes of stroke play during the first day of competition. The top eight team finishers will then advance to a championship match play bracket while team finishers nine through 16 will be placed in a consolation bracket. Each team will play three rounds of match play over the second and third days. The match play portion will reflect the proposed format of the NCAA Championships.
UCLA is the defending champion at the annual event. Past champions include Oklahoma, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Florida and Augusta State.
Freshmen Fantastic
San Diego State's freshman class ranks among America's best for the third consecutive week. The class ranks second on the Golfstat Top 25 Freshman Class Impact Ranking, released March 19. As a class, the SDSU freshmen hold a 73.09 stroke average, according to Golfstat. Only Alabama (72.59) ranks ahead of the Aztecs.