CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Augusta State fired its lowest round of the season and its lowest postseason round in school history Thursday morning in the first round of the NCAA East Regional hosted by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga at Council Fire Golf Club.
The Jaguars, playing alongside UC-Irvine and SMU, posted an 11-under 273 under threatening skies and stand in second place in the three-day, 54-hole event, eight shots back of Georgia. SMU, Mississippi State and Middle Tennessee round out the top five.
ASU freshman Henrik Norlander closed out a six-under 65 with an up-and-down from left of the 18th green for his best round as a collegian. Junior Tarik Can notched a three-under 68, matching his career low, while senior Keith Guest and sophomore Mitch Krywulycz signed for a pair of one-under 70’s. Sophomore Jake Amos posted a four-over 75.
Norlander is tied for the individual lead with Georgia’s Hudson Swafford and Can is part of a six-way tie for 15th. Guest and Krywulycz are tied for 33rd and Amos is tied for 107th.
“We knew we were capable of putting together this type of round,” said ASU head coach Josh Gregory. “For us to go out and perform like we in this setting says a lot. We played aggressively but we also played smart. We got off to a terrific start and the momentum really carried us around the course. We’re in a terrific position and we need to take advantage of it and build on our confidence.”
ASU will be again be paired with SMU and UC-Irvine for Friday’s second round. Krywulycz will lead the Jags out on the course at 12:12 p.m., followed by Amos at 12:21, Can at 12:31, Guest at 12:40 and Norlander at 12:50 p.m.
Live scoring of all three NCAA Regionals will be available at www.golfstat.com.
Notes: ASU is making its 10th NCAA Regional appearance in the last 11 years … The Jaguars are competing in the NCAA Regional for the 13th time in the last 16 years … In nine of its previous 12 trips, ASU has advanced to the NCAA Championships, the last time being in 2005 … The Jags, who entered the regional as the No. 17 seed in the 27-team field, were made an at-large selection on Monday, May 5 by the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee in Indianapolis, Ind…. Council Fire Golf Club is a Robert Cupp design that opened in 1992 … The Jags are making their first East Regional appearance since 2004 … ASU made three straight trips to the East Regional between 2002 and 2004 before being shipped to the Central Regional in 2005 and to the West Regional last season … ASU is looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in 13 NCAA Regional appearances … Each of the three NCAA Regionals (East, Central and West) consists of 27 teams and six individuals not on the selected teams … The top 10 teams and top two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the NCAA Championships … The NCAA Championships is slated for May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., and hosted by Purdue University.
NCAA East Regional
Council Fire Golf Club
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Par 71 – 6,961 yards
May 15-17, 2008
Augusta State Individual Results
t1. Henrik Norlander 32-33 65 -6
t15. Tarik Can 37-31 68 -3
t33. Keith Guest 34-36 70 -1
t33. Mitch Krywulycz 37-33 70 -1
t107. Jake Amos 39-36 75 +4
Team Results
1. Georgia 265 -19
2. AUGUSTA STATE 273 -11
3. SMU 276 -8
4. Middle Tennessee 278 -6
Mississippi State 278 -6
6. North Carolina St 279 -5
7. New Mexico State 280 -4
8. Charlotte 281 -3
Auburn 281 -3
Virginia Tech 281 -3
11. Colorado State 282 -2
Chattanooga 282 -2
13. UC-Irvine 283 -1
14. Coastal Carolina 285 +1
Michigan State 285 +1
Western Carolina 285 +1
17. Virginia 286 +2
Duke 286 +2
East Tennessee St. 286 +2
20. Georgia State 287 +3
UAB 287 +3
22. South Carolina 288 +4
23. Memphis 289 +5
24. Western Illinois 293 +9
North Florida 293 +9
Mississippi 293 +9
27. Jackson State 302 +18