May 14, 2008

NCAA East Regional Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's golf team is ready to compete at the 2008 NCAA East Regional on Thursday through Saturday, May 15-17. The Blazers, who are ranked 28th in the nation, earned the No. 10 seed and will tee off at 12:30 p.m. at the Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"We are excited to be here in Chattanooga and eager to get the tournament underway," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "We have been playing really well as a team throughout our last several tournaments, so I am hoping we can ride that momentum into this weekend. It is a tough field with a lot of good teams, but I think when we are playing at our best, we can play with anybody."

The Blazers come into the East Regional on quite a tear. In its last event back on April 20-22, UAB captured the program's first-ever Conference USA men's golf championship. It marked the team's second tournament win of the season (Sam Hall Intercollegiate, Nov. 5-6) to go along with three runner-up and nine top-five results in the 12-tournament slate this season.

Individually, junior Zach Sucher and senior Brad Smith lead the way, as both players are ranked among the top 60 golfers in the country (Sucher - 20th, Smith 58th), entering the regionals. Sucher was tabbed the 2008 Conference USA Men's Golfer of the year last month, while Smith was selected to the league's first team.

UAB's appearance in the 2008 NCAA Regionals marks the second consecutive season the Blazers have earned a berth to the postseason. It is also the seventh time in program history the team has earned a spot in the NCAA Regionals.

The regional field features 27 teams and six individuals with the top 10 teams moving on to the finals at Purdue, May 28-31. Out of the 27 teams in the East, 18 are ranked in the top 50 in the country.