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NCAA Championship Information

Charlottesville, VA The Virginia men’s golf team begins play in the 2009 NCAA Championships Tuesday at the par-71, 7,255-yard Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The 30-team field will use a new format this season to determine the individual and team champion at the event that runs from May 26 to 30. For the first time since 1965, stroke play alone will not be used to crown a team champion.

Following 54 holes of stroke play between Tuesday and Thursday, the top eight teams will advance to a match play format Friday and Saturday to determine the team champion. The individual champion will be the top finisher after the 54 holes of stroke play. In the past, the tournament featured four rounds (72 holes) of stroke play to determine the individual and team champions.

Virginia advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second straight year after a fourth-place finish at the NCAA East Regional in Galloway, N.J. The Cavaliers are the No. 22 seed and begin play at 7:47 a.m. Tuesday from the No. 1 tee. Virginia is paired with No. 23 seed Ohio State and No. 24 seed Northwestern. Those teams will start their second round Wednesday at 12:59 p.m. from the 10th tee. Pairings for Wednesday’s final round of stroke play are based on the standings after the first 36 holes of competition.

The field for this year’s NCAA Championships includes (listed by seed): No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Florida, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 14 UCLA, No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Washington, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Illinois, No. 6 Stanford, No. 11 South Carolina, No. 3 USC, No. 21 Central Florida, No. 15 Texas Tech, No. 31 Oregon, No. 24 Texas, No. 25 UT Chattanooga, No. 28 Arizona, No. 47 Virginia, No. 48 Ohio State, Northwestern, San Diego, No. 20 TCU, No. 26 Wake Forest, No. 38 Duke, No. 39 Michigan and Iowa.

Six at-large individuals will also compete for the NCAA individual title.

Live scoring of the tournament will be online at Golfstat.com.

The Virginia Lineup
Virginia’s lineup for the NCAA Championships will include senior Conrad Von Borsig (73.96 stroke average), junior Kyle Stough (73.24), sophomore Will Collins (72.93) and freshmen Ben Kohles (73.03) and Bruce Woodall (74.74). Stough and Collins played in the NCAA Championships last year, helping the Cavaliers to a 26th-place finish.

NCAA History
The 2009 NCAA Championships marks the 12th time the Cavaliers have earned a bid to the national tournament. The Cavaliers’ last appearance was in 2008 when the team placed 26th. This marks the first time in school history UVa has made back-to-back appearances at the NCAAs. Former Virginia golfer Dixon Brooke won the NCAA individual crown in 1940, the second year of the championship. The Cavaliers finished 15th that year as a team. UVa’s best NCAA finish came in 1946 when the Cavaliers were 11th in an 18-team field.

Strong Spring for UVa
Virginia managed to move up in the national golf polls thanks to several strong showings in the spring. The Cavaliers opened the spring by winning the Argonaut Invitational and then placed second at the Seminole Invitational. UVa also had a runner-up finish at the Hootie at Bull Bay tournament and its own Cavalier Classic. Virginia is currently ranked No. 47 by Golfstat and No. 45 by Golfweek.

Regional Recap
For the second year in a row the Virginia men’s golf team made an incredible run at an NCAA Regional event to earn a berth to the NCAA Championships. Unranked and seeded ninth in the 14-team field, the Cavaliers finished fourth among 14 teams to earn one of the tournament’s five spots into the national tournament. Virginia shot 16-over 300 during Saturday’s final round to finish the three-day 54-hole tournament at 889. The Cavaliers were led at the regional by freshman Ben Kohles, who finished 11th overall at 221, including a 5-over 76 during the final round. Kyle Stough and Conrad Von Borsig tied for 14th at 222. Will Collins led UVa during the final round with a 2-over 73 to finish 19th at 224. Bruce Woodall, the second freshman in the UVa lineup, was 61st at 238.

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