Red Raiders Tee Off at NCAA Central Regional Thursday
May 15, 2003 | Men's Golf
May 15, 2003
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders begin play Thursday morning at the NCAA Central Regional at Colbert Hills in Manhattan, Kan. Tech is playing in its second-straight NCAA Regional and is vying for one of 10 spots in the 27-team field to advance to the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla., at the end of the month.
Tech claimed the 10th and final spot in the NCAA West Regional last year in Albuquerque in a playoff against San Diego State to advance to the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The Red Raiders entered the regional as the 20th seed.
The Red Raiders are seeded 23rd in what many have considered the toughest of the three regionals. Big 12 Champion Texas is the top seed, followed by TCU, Oklahoma State, North Carolina and defending National Champion Minnesota, respectively.
Andrew Dresser (Carrollton, Texas/Creekview) has been the No. 1 player for the Red Raiders much of the spring. The freshman leads the team with a 73.7 stroke average and has finished in the top 10 in three events this spring. Senior Mark Hull (San Antonio, Texas/Churchill) is averaging 74.5 strokes, while senior Brooks Kelly (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena) follows with a 74.6 stroke average. Junior Brad Jacobson (Bryant, S.D./Hamlin) and freshman Erik Stenman (Tampere, Finland) are stroking 74.9 and 75.3 per round.
The Red Raiders earned a spot in the Central Regional by virtue of finishing fifth in the Big 12 Conference Championships earlier this month.
In addition to the aforementioned top five seeds, the following also are participating in the event: North Carolina State (6), Oklahoma (7), Arkansas (8), Illinois (9), Northwestern (10), SMU (11), Baylor (12), Tulsa (13), Kentucky (14), Lamar (15), Toledo (16), Michigan State (17), Wichita State (18), North Texas (19), Texas A&M (20), Ohio State (21), Kent State (22), Tech (23), Kansas (24), Missouri (25), Kansas State (26) and Wright State (27). The Big 12 Conference has the most representation in the regional with nine teams.
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