FERRIS STATE QUALIFIES FOR 2004 MEN'S GOLF SUPER REGIONAL

The 2003-04 Ferris State University men’s golf team will be competing in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship Super Regional as announced by the the NCAA-II Men’s Golf Committee.

A total of 80 teams and 50 individuals have been selected to participate in the NCAA-II Super Regionals, which will be conducted May 3-5. The five regional tournaments encompass the current 10 regions of which Ferris State will be competing in the Central/Great Lakes Super Regional.

Ferris State freshman Jeff Carlson and the Bulldogs will seek to defend their Great Lakes Regional title next week.

The Central/Great Lakes Regional, which is being hosted by Northern Kentucky University, will be held at the Lassing Pointe Golf Club in Union, Ky.

Ferris State, which is coached by Brad Bedortha, is seeded second in the Great Lakes Region behind Grand Valley State. Saginaw Valley State, Northern Kentucky, Wayne State, Findlay, Bellarmine and Lewis comprise the remainder of the eight-team regional field. Both Wayne State and Bellarmine earned automatic berths after winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship titles, respectively. Five individuals from non-qualifying teams were also selected to participate.

Ten teams and 10 individuals will advance from the Super Regionals to the 2004 NCAA-II Men’s Golf Championship finals May 12-15 at Victoria Hills Country Club in DeLand, Fla., as part of the NCAA-II Sports Festival. The championship finals will be hosted by Central Florida Sports Commission, the Sunshine State Conference and Rollins College. Eight at-large teams and two at-large individuals will be selected Thursday, May 6, for the championship finals. The championships will consist of both team and individual competition. All participants will compete throughout the entire 72 holes of competition. In the team competition, the low four scores for each team will count in each day’s total score.

Last season, Ferris State claimed top honors among the eight teams with a three-round 895 team score at the NCAA-II Central/Great Lakes Super Regional, which took place May 5-7 at the Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar, Mo. The Bulldogs posted rounds of 296, 302 and 297 in the 54-hole event and went on to register a 15th-place showing at the 41st annual NCAA-II Championships (Mary 20-23) at Sunriver, Ore. FSU carded a four-round 1,216-stroke total.

FSU will be making its second appearance in the last three years at the Lassing Pointe Golf Club as the Bulldogs finished second in the 2002 regional tourney. Ferris registered an 18-hole 287 score in a tournament which was shortened due to wet weather conditions.

Great Lakes Region Teams
1. Grand Valley State
2. Ferris State
3. Saginaw Valley State
4. Northern Kentucky
5. Wayne State
6. Findlay
7. Bellarmine
8. Lewis

Great Lakes Region Individuals
Dave Patronik, Gannon
Brad Ward, Lake Superior State
Justin Holyszko, Northwood
Corey Scheipeter, Indianapolis
Rob Schlitts, Hillsdale