May 13, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week In Men's Golf
The Saint Mary's golf team will compete in the 2008 NCAA Championship in the Western Regional on May 15-17. The tournament will be played at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, WA, which is located about an hour southwest of Seattle. Saint Mary's will be the first team to tee off on Thursday morning. The Gaels' first team time is scheduled for 7 a.m. off the first tee.

About the Course
Gold Mountain is an 18-hole championship golf course, which is a par-72 layout that measures 7,111 yards. The rating for the course is 75.7 with a slope of 141 from the back tees.

Tournament Format
All three regionals of the 2008 NCAA Golf Championships are 54 holes of medal play. The tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes on each day. There is a team and individual component to each regional. The top 10 teams and top two individuals not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championships.

NCAA West Regional Field
1-USC, 2-UCLA, 3-Florida State, 4-Stanford, 5-Clemson, 6-UNLV, 7-North Carolina, 8-Texas Tech, 9-Central Florida, 10-Arizona State, 11-San Diego State, 12-Texas, 13-LSU, 14-Oregon State, 15-Pepperdine, 16-Oregon, 17-California, 18-Saint Mary's, 19-Kentucky, 20-Wisconsin, 21-Washington, 22-Oklahoma, 23-Kansas State, 24-San Diego, 25-Denver, 26-Navy, 27-Columbia. Individuals: 1-Troy Merritt, Boise State, 2-Brian Locke, Loyola Marymount, 3-Tarquin Macmanus, Arizona, 4-Jason D'Amore, Loyola Marymount, 5-Nathan Stamey, North Carolina-Greensboro, 6-Jimmy Lytle, Elon.

Results
There will be live scoring available for all rounds of the tournament on the internet through Golfstat. com. The Golfstat link will be available through www.SMCGaels.com, golfstat.com, or ncaasports. com. Complete and updated results will be posted on the SMC Athletics website following the completion of play each day.

Saint Mary's In The NCAA's
This year will mark the second team appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and second in four years. The Gaels first NCAA Tournament berth came following the 2004-05 season. SMC has had at least one player in the tournament field the past five years. Joe Lanza played as an individual in 2004, Chadd Cocco was selected as an individual in 2006, and Mike McRae was invited as an individual last year.

Three Gaels return To NCAA Field
Seniors Chadd Cocco, Mike McRae and Josh Kelley were members of the first SMC golf team to make the NCAA Tournament in 2005. Cocco was a sophomore and both McRae and Kelley were freshmen on the squad. This year's NCAA appearance will make the second for Kelley, while Cocco and McRae, who were individual selections in 2006 and 2007, respectively, will be making their third appearances in four years.

Last Time Around The Links
The last time SMC played a competitive round of golf, the Gaels finished fourth at the 2008 Ping Cougar Classic in Provo, UT. The Gaels got to the clubhouse with a score of 860 (-4) at the Riverside Country Club. Dan Cone and Mike McRae paced the Gaels with a 54-hole score of 213 (-3), and tied for eighth place. Chadd Cocco finished tied for 18th at even par, while Josh Kelley and Robert McRae tied for 40th with a 4-over par 220.

Three Shoot School Record 205
Three times this year a Saint Mary's golfer has shot a school record 205 for a 54-hole tournament. The first came in October of 2007 when Josh Kelley shot 205 (-11) at the Xavier Invitational. Kelley held the record for one week, as Mike McRae and Robert McRae equalled the performance of Kelley. Both Mike and Robert shot 205 (-8) at the Alister Mackenzie Invitational, tying for fourth overall. Prior to this season, the record of 206 was held by Mike McRae and Chadd Cocco.

Gaels Shot School Record in Hawaii
Twice this season SMC shot a school record for overall score in a 54-hole tournament. The first came when SMC shot a 54-hole total of 540 (-12), while finishing ninth overall at the Allister Mackenzie Invitational. The Gaels would then better that result by 11 shots after shooting a 54-hole score of 829 (-35) at the Hawaii Fall Intercollegiate on Nov. 5-7.

Cocco, McRae and Kelley All-WCC
After the completion of the WCC Championships, Saint Mary's had three players garner post-season recognition. Both Chadd Cocco and Mike McRae garnered first team honors, while Josh Kelley was an honorable mention selection. Cocco became the school's first four-year All-WCC selection, McRae earned his third straight selection, and Kelley received his first ever All-WCC honor.

McRae Ranks Nationally
Mike McRae has played extremely consistent his senior season, which has garnered him a top-100 ranking in the country. He currently ranks 71st in the nation according to GolfStat.com and his stroke average of 71.6, which ranks second in school history for a single season, ranks 30th overall in the country. Additionally, he ranks 18th in fairway's hit (81.5 percent) and greens in regulation (72.4 percent).

Cocco Ties For First At WCC's
At the 2008 WCC Championships, senior Chadd Cocco shot a final round 71 to tie for medalist honors. The round of 71 was the only round under par in the final round at Chambers Bay GC. Cocco would lose on the second round of the playoff.

Cocco's Ranking In The Country
Heading into the NCAA Regional, Cocco ranks third in the nation in Greens In Regulation. He has hit 77.4 percent of the greens that he has played, which results in hitting 460 of 594 holes played. He also ranks 24th in the country with 118 converted birdies.

Where The Gaels Rank Nationally
Saint Mary's has had one of its most impressive season's statistically and rank high in the country in a few categories. Saint Mary's ranks second in the country in greens in regulation (69.14 percent), sixth in the nation in fairways hit (73.8 percent) 10th in par-4 scoring (4.12), and 14th in scoring average (288.52). SMC is eighth in first round scoring (72.92), and the Gaels have made 526 birdies as a team to rank 5th in the country.