Sports News Southwest

SDSU, ranked 22nd in the latest Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, is among 81 NCAA Division I schools selected to play in one of six regional tournaments. The other five regional tournaments will be held concurrently in Austin, Texas (Southwest Regional), Bowling Green, Ky. (Central Regional), Galloway, N.J. (Northeast Regional), Sorrento, Fla. (Southeast Regional) and Stillwater, Okla. (South Central Regional).

The three-day tournament features 18 holes of stroke play each day. The top five teams and the top individual not on an advancing team will move on from each regional to the championship finals.

San Diego State is seeking its 26th trip to the national championships in school history and its fifth since the inception of the regional format in 1989. The Aztecs have advanced to the championship series four times (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2008) under the regional-qualifying format, and are trying for their first back-to-back appearance at the NCAA championships since their streak of 11 consecutive appearances ended in 1984.

The NCAA Championships will be held May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

A live scoring link for the NCAA West Regional will be available on the home page of GoAztecs.com.

The 2009 NCAA West Regional Field

A total of 13 teams from five different conferences comprise this year’s West Regional, including four schools from the Pac-10 and three from the Big-12. San Diego State and New Mexico are the lone representatives from the Mountain West Conference after league champion TCU was placed in the South Central Regional. Colorado State and UNLV, meanwhile, were selected to the Northeast and Southwest Regionals, respectively. Other top 25 ranked teams in SDSU’s regional include No. 3 Southern California, No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 15 Arizona State.

The Aztecs have played nine of the other 12 teams in the West Regional during the 2008-09 season, compiling 22-6 overall record in head-to-head competition, while maintaining a winning mark against eight of those squads. In the six regionals combined, SDSU has faced 44 of 80 schools, posting a 64-22-3 mark.

This Week’s Lineup

Head coach Ryan Donovan will utilize another new lineup at the NCAA West Regionals. Leading the way for SDSU will be sophomore Johan Carlsson, who will be joined by senior Bryan Martin and the freshman trio of Andrew Cooley, Alex Kang and J.J. Spaun.

Carlsson leads the squad with an overall stroke average of 72.50, followed closely by Spaun (72.55), Cooley (73.00), Kang (73.06) and Martin (73.37).

Carlsson will be making his second West Regional appearance, while each of the other four is making their first start. Last season in Bremerton, Wash., Carlsson posted the Aztecs’ lowest score in the final round, setting the stage for a stirring rally that propelled the Scarlet and Black into the NCAA Championships. He posted an eagle on the final hole of regulation to card a 4-under 68 in the third round to climb 32 places into a tie for 19th with his 2-over 218 effort.

A Look At The Course

The host site of the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Regional, the Lake Merced Golf Club owns a storied history. Originally designed by Willie Lock in 1922, Lake Merced Golf Club was redesigned in 1929 under the guidance of fabled architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie. When Interstate 280 was constructed in the early 1960's, the Club utilized vacant land acquired in the 1920's and retained Robert Muir Graves to reroute the course as necessary to create the basis of today's championship layout. The golf course underwent a major renovation in 1996 under the direction of Rees Jones, known the world over for his brilliant restoration of legendary championship venues. Lake Merced has hosted numerous Collegiate, NCGA and USGA events, including the 1990 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Lake Merced regularly hosts sectional qualifying for both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open.

Carlsson All-Conference

Sophomore Johan Carlsson was selected to the 2008-09 all-Mountain West Conference team following the league championships.

Carlsson, who ranks 11th in the MWC with a 72.50 stroke average, has recorded seven finishes within the top-20 during the 2008-09 campaign. The award is the first all-league recognition for Carlsson.

This is the 10th straight season in which SDSU has had at least one player recognized by the MWC and is the 16th all-MWC men’s golf selection for the Aztecs since the league’s inception in 1999-2000.

Freshmen Fantastic

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