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Five MWC Men's Golf Teams Earn NCAA Regional Bids
UNLV, TCU, BYU, San Diego State and New Mexico receive berths in NCAA regional field.
May 8, 2006 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Mountain West Conference will have five teams and two individuals represented at the 2006 NCAA Men's Golf Regionals, announced Monday (May 8) by the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee. New Mexico earned the automatic berth after winning the Conference championship in Sunriver, Ore., April 29, and will be joined by UNLV, TCU, BYU and San Diego State. In addition, Utah's Dustin Pimm and Colorado State's Derek Whiting were two of 18 golfers to receive an individual slot in this year's regional tournament. UNLV earned the No. 3 seed in the East Regional, which will be played May 18-20 at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. The Rebels are making their 18th consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals as UNLV won the NCAA West Regional just one year ago and placed eighth at the 2005 NCAA Championships. UNLV finished third at the 2006 MWC Championships. TCU, which is making its 17th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, earned the No. 14 seed in the Central Regional. The Central Regional will be contested May 18-20 at the Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon, Ohio. Since 1991, the Horned Frogs have advanced to the NCAA Championships on 10 occasions. Three teams - BYU, San Diego State and New Mexico - will play in the NCAA West Regional. This year's West Regional will be played at Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz., from May 18-20. In addition, Utah's Dustin Pimm and Colorado State's Derek Whiting will compete as individuals in the West Regional. BYU, which earned the No. 3 seed, will be looking for its third straight trek to the NCAA Championships. Last year, BYU placed sixth at the NCAA West Regional and fourth at the NCAA Championships. The Cougars are led by junior Jake Ellison, who was the 2006 MWC Player of the Year. San Diego State, the No. 8 seed, is making its eighth straight appearance and the 11th time in program history in regional play. The Aztecs finished tied for seventh at the 2005 NCAA West Regional and advanced to the NCAA Championships. San Diego State finished second at the 2006 MWC Championships, just five strokes behind champion New Mexico. New Mexico received the No. 11 seed and the automatic bid after winning the 2006 MWC Championships. The Lobos are making their 22nd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regionals. New Mexico will be looking for its fifth straight trip to the NCAA Championships as the Lobos placed second at the 2005 NCAA West Regionals. New Mexico finished fifth at the 2005 NCAA Championships, the team's best finish since 1979. Pimm and Whiting will compete as individuals in the West Regional. Pimm paced Utah and finished third in the MWC with a 71.23 stroke average. He finished tied for sixth with a two-over-par 218 at the 2006 MWC Championships. Pimm carded the lowest round of the tournament in the second round with a six-under-par 66Whiting led Colorado State with a 72.28 stroke average while ranking eighth in the MWC in the category. Whiting was CSU's top finisher in the 2006 MWC Championship carding a three-round total of 220 to finish in a tie for 20th. Three regional tournaments, encompassing the current nine regions, will be conducted May 18-20. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each regional site. Ten teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals. The championships will be conducted May 31-June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. The University of the Portland is the host institution for this year's championships.
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