Huskies Ready for NCAA Cle Elum Regionals
SEATTLE – The University of Washington men's golf team makes its first regional appearance since 2017 this week as it heads to the 2021 NCAA Cle Elum Regionals, Monday-Wednesday, May 17-19 at the par-71, 7,069-yard Tumble Creek Golf Club. The three-day, 54-hole, 5-count-4 event will be hosted by the University of Washington and will tee off at 8 a.m. every day with 18 holes being played. The top five teams from each of the six regional sites and the top individual finisher not on an advancing team will advance to the national championships to be played May 28-June 2 at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
COACH MURRAY ON NCAA REGIONALS
"We are really excited to host NCAA Regionals at Tumble Creek and welcome some of the best teams in the country to the Pacific Northwest. Tumble Creek is without a doubt a championship golf course and venue and it will do a great job of identifying the best teams in the field I believe.
They are going to be looking forward to hosting the teams almost as much as the teams will be looking forward to competing on this amazing golf course.
Our guys are relishing being able to compete in front of our home fans as we didn't get too many chances to compete on home soil relative to the other sports just because of the nature of college golf.
Our guys' games are in good shape and we are eager to get started and do everything we can to win the tournament. We have continued to improve as the season has progressed and I hope that we will continue that trend. We just have to focus on ourselves and do what we can to play well."
SPECTATOR INFORMATION: Fans are allowed to come watch the 2021 NCAA Regionals at Tumble Creek. Masks must be worn at all times and spectators must stay on the cart paths. Due to COVID protocols, fans may not interact with any of the student-athletes at any time. There is a dress code at Tumble Creek, no jeans are allowed and shirts must be tucked in. Additionally, there is no smoking allowed at any time. Fans must check in at the gatehouse when entering the Tumble Creek area.
THE FIELD BY SEED (GolfWeek Rankings): No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Pepperdine, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 San Francisco, No. 6 Iowa, No. 7 Washington, No. 8 East Tennessee State, No. 9 Utah, No. 10 Oregon, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 12 Long Beach State, No. 13 Denver, No. 14 Sacramento State. Additionally, five individuals will be competing: Carson Lundell (BYU), Matt McCarty (Santa Clara), Jack Trent (UNLV), Jake Vincent (Southern Utah), Gabe Lysen (Utah Valley).
THE LINEUP: The Huskies will send five players to the NCAA Regionals: senior Noah Woolsey, sophomore Petr Hruby, senior Henry Lee, freshman Teddy Lin and senior Jan Schneider.
LAST TIME OUT: Washington finished fourth at the Pac-12 Championships in its last event, April 26-28, which was the Huskies' best showing at the league championships since 2017. Two Dawgs placed in the top 10 individually, also for the first time since 2017 as senior Jan Schneider finished sixth and freshman Teddy Lin tied for eighth. The Huskies finished the event by overcoming a 11-stroke deficit to Oregon and beat the Ducks by three-strokes while taking fourth overall. Schneider didn't turn in a scorecard over par the whole week while Lin's 5-under 67 on the final round was his best as a Husky. Additionally, freshman Taehoon Song's final round was a 7-under 67, the best score by a Dawg this season.
PAC-12 HONORS: For the first time since 2016, the Huskies had three student-athletes recognized by the conference in the same year as senior Jan Schneider, senior Henry Lee and freshman Teddy Lin were named to the All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention team following the Pac-12 Championships. Lin was also an honorable mention selection for the Pac-12 All-Newcomer Team. Lee posted three top 10 finishes in eight events this season with a 72.08 stroke average over 25 rounds and only finished lower than 30th in an event once. Schneider earned Washington's highest finish at the Pac-12 Championships since 2018 as he placed sixth over all with a 10-under 278. He had a team-high tying 11 rounds under par including six sub-70 scorecards en route to a 72.35 stroke average. Lin recorded five top 25 finishes during his first season with the Dawgs with his 72.96 stroke average over nine events. Lin also recorded eight rounds under par and finished second in the lineup on the team five times.
SEASON RECAP: After nearly a year between competitions the Huskies returned to the course in January of 2021 and while their first three starts showed a little rust – a tie for 14th, sixth and 13th place finishes – UW found its stride over the last five events, not finishing below fourth. UW individuals have posted six top 10 finishes, led by senior Henry Lee's three top 10 showings. Washington earned a third-place showing at the Lamkin Grips Classic, followed by back-to-back fourth-place efforts at the Duck Invitational and The Goodwin. Next up was UW's best finish of the year, placing second at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational and a fourth-place finish to wrap up the regular season at the Western Intercollegiate.
LEE MOVING UP IN THE RECORD BOOK: With his tie for second at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational, senior Henry Lee posted his 14th career top 10 performance. This moves him into a tie for sixth all-time in the storied and prestigious Husky record book. The all-time record of 32 is held by Brock Mackenzie but sitting in seventh puts him just five top 10 efforts out of the top five of 18 held by Rob Rashell. He is now tied with Trevor Simsby.
WOOLSEY BACK IN FORM: Senior Noah Woolsey, who was named to the PING All-American Honorable Mention team a year ago, has picked up where he left off, leading the Huskies in five of nine events this season and leads the team with a 71.82 stroke average. Most recently he tied for 11th at the Western Intercollegiate and prior to that he turned in a fifth-place showing at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational for his seventh career top five finish with his 3-under 211 on the prestigious Chambers Bay Golf Course. He has also finished tied for second, 33rd, 28th, 14th and 24th this year while posting four 54-hole scorecards under par in seven events.
UW AND SAHALEE ANNOUNCE SAHALEE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP: The University of Washington and Sahalee Country Club have announced a partnership for the start of a new collegiate event, the Sahalee Players Championship which will start in September of 2023. The tournament, which was formerly an amateur summer event at Sahalee, will feature some of the most storied programs in the country. Oklahoma State, Texas, Arizona State, Pepperdine, Stanford, USC, Illinois, Florida, Wake Forest, Duke, and of course host Washington are all expected to compete.
LAST SEASON'S SUCCESS: The Huskies made their name known on the national scene last season, moving up to as high as No. 11 in the nation with their performances. Washington only finished below third in one of eight events. They took home team championships at the Husky Invitational, the Old Town Intercollegiate, the Georgetown Intercollegiate and the Seminole Invitational. They also placed second at the Ka'anapali Collegiate and the Bandon Dunes Championship while finishing third at the Arizona Intercollegiate. Additionally, three different student-athletes brought home individual titles throughout the season.
WHAT'S BACK: The Huskies return the majority of the top of their lineup from a year ago in seniors Noah Woolsey, Jan Schneider and Henry Lee, who was given an extra year due to last season being cut short due to COVID-19. Additionally, Washington returns sophomores Petr Hruby and Nate Anderson. Woolsey, Lee and Schneider all won tournaments as individuals last season. Woolsey was on the PING All-American Honorable Mention Team and won three individual titles to lead the team.
WHO'S NEW: Washington welcomes three newcomers to the team this year in Teddy Lin, Taehoon Song and Robert Galligan. Lin, from New Taipei City, Taiwan, comes to the Dawgs after being ranked as high as 113 by the WAGR. Song, originally from South Korea, but competed at Anaheim Discovery Christian (California) won the AJGA Junior in April of 2019 and has been ranked as high as fifth in the AJGA rankings. Galligan crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland to join the UW squad. He was a standout member of the Irish Boys team and had success on the junior circuit in Ireland before coming over to the U.S.
SPRING SCHEDULE: Head coach Alan Murray's Huskies opened the spring campaign at the Arizona Intercollegiate before heading to Waimea, Hawaii to take part in the 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-24). The Dawgs followed that by competing at the Gators Invitational (Feb. 12-14). Washington then headed to the Lamkin Invitational, March 8-9, hosted by San Diego State before taking on the Duck Invitational, March 22-23 in Eugene. Following The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford, March 25-27, Washington heads to the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational, March 29-30 in a busy week at Chambers Bay. The Dawgs will close the regular season at the Western Intercollegiate, April 12-14 in Santa Cruz, California. The Pac-12 Championships will be played in Santa Rosa, California, April 26-28. Washington is hosting an NCAA Regionals Site at Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, May 17-19.