Seattle University men’s golf on Monday, May 15 made an appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament at Aldarra Gold Club in Sammamish, Wash. where they finished 12th. The tournament lasted until Wednesday. It was their first time in the NCAA Tournament in over 50 years.
Joe Harvie watches his shot.
“I’m extremely proud of this team and I will forever be thankful to the graduating seniors for their efforts in helping us raise the bar in regard to what’s expected, which is more trips to the NCAA’s,” said Head Coach Marc Chandonnet at an interview with Seattle U Athletic Department. “It was exciting to see Joe Harvie hitting great shots again. He was playing with some confidence and I hadn’t seen that from him in a while which is encouraging, he’s a phenomenal young man and player.”
The Redhawks struggled out of the gate but a few student-athletes took
on the spotlight. Joe Harvie, a junior for the team, completed a final round, one-under-par 70, this final round placed him in a tie for 17th. Patrick Sato, a senior who played his final year at Seattle University, placed for 51st overall at 15 over 228, a tie.
“I can’t say enough about Zack Overstreetandtheyearhehashad,” Chandonnet said. “He has single- handily helped take our team to new heights and I know that he and Joe will continue to push each other to even higher levels next year. Zack has been everything I ever imagined he would be and more.”
Overstreet placed 61st overall, hitting a 17-over 230.
In a ranking using the Golfweek and Sagarin rankings, Golfweek compared the performance of all NCAA Division I teams during the fall season and spring season. According to this ranking, Seattle University has made the most improvement. Fall season the Redhawks were ranked 156, come Spring they were ranked 77. This 79 team ranking movement,
at the top of the ranking list, gained Seattle University some spotlight on Golfweek. Other teams, like Michigan State and San Diego State, dropped down rankings. Michigan State University dropped down 93 rankings, 29 in the Fall and 12 in the Spring season.
Last time Seattle U played in the NCAA tournament was in 1965, 52 years ago. Although the team accomplished getting to the tournament, once there, they struggled to compete with others who have been in this position several years. During opening matches on Monday, Seattle University lowered their score. USC, Kent State, Florida State, Alabama and Penn State all advanced to the NCAA Championship.
The matches were scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday beginning at 8 a.m. and on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. The teams will play for 18 holes for each of the three days.
Overall, this season has been a successful one for the Redhawks. A win in the Western Athletic
Conference (WAC) championship in Arizona was good experience for the team.
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