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Saints qualify for Regional Championships in South Dakota April 24, 2005 For the third time in the last four years, Saint Martin's has qualified to compete at the NCAA Division II West Region Championships. The Saints were selected as the No. 8 seed for the 54-hole event, which will be held on May 2-4 at the Dakota Dunes Country Club in North Sioux City, S.D. The tournament is being held in conjunction with the Northwest Regional as one of five super regionals taking place across the country. Each regional is made up of eight schools and five additional individuals from non-qualifying schools. The winning school in each region earns an automatic berth to the NCAA II National Championships at Savannah, Georgia, on May 17-20. The next four teams in the West/Northwest Super Regional earn consideration for at-large berths at nationals. In addition, the top individual in each super region from schools not qualifying for nationals ears an individual berth to the national tourney. Cal State Bakersfield is the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, followed by Hawaii Hilo, Western Washington, Cal State Stanislaus, Grand Canyon, UC San Diego, Cal State Chico, and Saint Martin's. All eight teams are ranked among the top 25 nationally in the latest Golf Coaches Association of America/Bridgestone NCAA II Coaches Poll. Bakersfield is No. 2, Hilo No. 6, Western No. 8, Stanislaus No. 12, Grand Canyon No. 15, UCSD No. 17, Chico No. 20, and SMC No. 21. Saints Coach Kurt Kageler commented on the announcement, "At the start of the season our goal was to qualify for postseason play and we have accomplished that goal. Now our goal is to play well at regional championship and qualify for the National tournament. These guys have worked hard all season and I am proud of their accomplishments. But I think this team is ready to take the next step in postseason play." Although the Saints placed second at the West Regionals last year in Bellingham, they did not earn a berth to the nationals as a team. Junior Shane Prante, who will enter this year's tournament as the highest ranked golfer in NCAA Division II with a 71.23 scoring average, participated in the 2004 nationals finishing tied at 47.
Mark McGreevy, Sports Information Director
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