UVa Men's Golfers Open Play at NCAA Regional Thursday

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Charlottesville, VA – The 21st-ranked Virginia men’s golf team begins play at a NCAA Regional Championship Thursday, May 19 at the par-72, 7,685 yard Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in Radford, Va.. The Cavaliers will compete as the number-four seed among 13 teams at the site. The top five finishers from the three-day, 54-hole event advance to the NCAA Championships May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.

Virginia is paired with No. 5 seed Oklahoma and No. 6 seed Kent State during Thursday’s opening round. Those teams will start from the No. 10 teem at 8:20 a.m.

The field for the Blacksburg Regional includes (listed by seed): 1. Georgia Tech, 2. LSU, 3. Duke, 4. Virginia, 5. Oklahoma, 6. Kent State, 7. Virginia Tech, 8. Ole Miss, 9. East Carolina, 10. UNC Wilmington, 11. Coastal Carolina, 12. Lamar and 13. Yale. A total of 10 individuals will also compete for a spot to advance to the NCAA Championships. A total of 81 teams are competing at six regional sites May 20-22.

The regional berth marks the 15th time since 1990 the Cavaliers have received a bid to postseason play. Virginia is looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 14th time in its history. Last year the Cavaliers were fifth at a regional site at The Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn. and went on to an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Virginia’s lineup for the Virginia Tech Regional will include senior Will Collins, juniors Ben Kohles, Henry Smart and Bruce Woodall and freshman Ben Rusch. Collins, Kohles, Smart and Woodall all played in the NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships last year.

Kohles, the ACC Player of the Year, leads the team with a 71.60 stroke average. He has been the Cavaliers’ top finisher in seven of 12 tournaments this year. Collins is second on the team with a 72.80 stroke average and Rusch is third at 73.12. Rusch is coming off his first career victory, winning medalist honors at the Cavalier Classic.

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