May 08, 2001
For the 23rd time in Bob Ellis's 27 years as Texas A&M's men's golf coach, the Aggies will be advancing to postseason play.
A&M on Tuesday received a bid to the NCAA Central Regional May 17-19 at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. The top 10 teams and two individuals not on those teams will advance from each regional to the NCAA Championships May 30-June 2 at the Duke University Golf Club in Durham, N.C. The NCAA East Regional will be in Williamsburg, Va., and the NCAA West Regional will be in Corvallis, Ore.
"We are thrilled to make the NCAA tournament after starting the year so poorly in the fall," said Ellis, who is retiring after this season. "We played well enough this spring to get in; now we want to do everything we can to advance to the national championships."
In addition to A&M, the 27-team Central Regional field will consist of No. 5-ranked Texas, No. 8 TCU, No. 11 Augusta State, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 19 Houston, No. 26 Northwestern, No. 27 Charleston, No. 32 North Carolina, No. 35 Kansas, No. 36 Minnesota, No. 39 Tulsa, No. 42 North Florida, No. 43 Colorado, No. 45 Baylor, No. 48 SMU, Kent State, Purdue, Ohio State, Toledo, Wichita State, Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Louisiana-Lafayette, Lamar and Jackson State.
"We played a practice round at Karsten Creek on the way back from the Big 12 Championships in late April and it is a very demanding golf course," Ellis said. "The wind was calm the day we played, but at this time of year we can expect the wind to blow. It will really be a formidable challenge but it's one we are looking forward to."
The only years Ellis's teams have missed postseason play were 1976, 1988, 1991 and 1999. His teams have advanced to the NCAA Championships 14 times, finishing in the top 10 four times.
The Aggies will warmup for regionals at The Maxwell on Saturday and Sunday in Ardmore, Okla.