Fresno State Athletics
No. 5 Golf Prepare to Host NCAA West Regional
5/8/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 8, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State Hosts NCAA West Regional Next Week
The NCAA West Regional tees off on Thursday, May 18 at Riverbend Golf Course. Fresno State will host 27 teams and six individual players for the three-day tournament. For complete tournament information go the Fresno State athletic website gobulldogs.com and select the NCAA West Regional icon.
No. 5 Bulldogs Crowned WAC Champions
The Bulldogs earned the first WAC Championship title in six years last week in Lewisville, Texas at the Golf Course at Castle Hills. The Bulldogs finished 14 strokes ahead of second place SMU with a three round score of 284-287-285--856. SMU finished with a total of 870, third place TCU finish with 871, Tulsa, in fourth, held a score of 881. UTEP finished in fifth with 884, Hawai'i took sixth (900) and Rice and San Jose State tied for seventh with scores of 909. Individually all five Bulldogs finished in the top 20 to earn the title. Fresno State's Todd Rose took second with 69-69-72--210 (-6) and Ryan King finished in third with 68-71-73--212 (-4). Danny Paniccia finished in a tie for sixth place with 76-72-69--217 (+1), Nick Watney tied for 13th with a three day score of 71-77-73--221 (+5) and Josh Watney finished in a tie for 15th with 76-75-71--222 (+6). Tulsa's Martin Maritz won the individual title with a score of 70-70-68--208 (-8).
Fresno State Garners WAC Awards
The Bulldogs were honored with four WAC All-Conference picks in seniors Ryan King, Todd Rose, Danny Paniccia and Josh Watney, as well as WAC Freshman of the Year honors in newcomer Nick Watney. Head coach Mike Watney was named Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his 22 year career at Fresno State, his second time in the Western Athletic Conference. Player of the Year went to Tulsa's Martin Maritz who won the individual WAC tournament, Tulsa finished fourth overall.
`Dogs No. 5 in Golfstat Head-to-Head Standings
The Bulldogs maintained the No. 5 spot in the nation after garnering the WAC championship title. Golfstat rankings will be released later this week. To find more Golfstat rankings information visit the Bulldogs' golf website on www.gobulldogs.com and select "Latest Rankings".
Bulldogs 10th in Golfweek Magazine Poll
The Bulldogs are ranked 10th with a 71.44 rating and are second in District Seven, behind No. 6 BYU according to the Golfweek Magazine poll.
`Dogs No. 6 in MasterCard Collegiate Poll
The Bulldogs moved up to the No. 6 spot this week in the MasterCard Collegiate Poll. Georgia Tech is in first followed by Clemson and Oklahoma State.
Three Bulldogs In Individual National Rankings
Also ranked nationally by Golfstat, Golfweek and MasterCard are three Bulldog golfers. Todd Rose moved up in the top 30 in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings taking the No. 24 spot. Rose also ranks 38th in the Golfweek Magazine poll and 38th in the Golfstat individual rankings. Ryan King moved to the No. 33 spot in Golfstat and is ranked 30th in the MasterCard poll. King maintained No. 33 in the Golfweek poll. Danny Paniccia earned a No. 68 ranking by Golfstat and is ranked No. 72 by MasterCard. King holds a per-round average of 71.48 and ten top 20 finishes in the eleven tournaments this season. Rose holds a 71.61 per-round average and broke his lowest single round career score twice this season with a 66 in the Fresno Lexus Classic and Western Intercollegiate. Paniccia holds a per-round average of 72.30.
Rose and King in Position to Break All-Time Lowest Avg. Per-Round
Todd Rose and Ryan King are both currently breaking the Fresno State school record in lowest season average per-round. King is leading the way with current average of 71.48 followed by Rose who boasts a per-round average of 71.61. The school record stands at 71.89 in 44 rounds set by Tim Norris in 1980.
Bulldogs Tie NCAA Lowest-Round-of-the-Year at Western Inter.
Bulldogs won the Far Western Intercollegiate with the strongest first round the NCAA has seen this year with a team (first round) score of 266. The Bulldogs score tied for the lowest round of the year in all rounds and all tournaments throughout the NCAA with Oklahoma State that earned a 266 earlier this season in the Red River Classic. In that first round three Bulldogs hit their career lowest round. Josh Watney scored a 65, beating his career lowest round by two strokes. Nick Watney scored a 69, his career lowest round by two strokes and Todd Rose tied his career lowest round of 66 set earlier this season at the Fresno Lexus Classic.
Bulldogs Earning WAC Golfer of the Week Honors
Freshman Nick Watney was honored with WAC Player of the Week for April 24-28 after his ninth place finish in the Ben Hogan Cougar Classic. Senior Ryan King earned WAC player of the week for April 10-14 after placing second at the Far Western Intercollegiate and teammate Todd Rose was WAC Player of the Week for Feb. 21-25 when he tied for fourth at the Taylor Made Intercollegiate.
`Dogs Hosts NCAA West Regional Tournament
Fresno State will host the NCAA West Regional Tournament on May 18-20 at the Riverbend Golf Course. The NCAA West Regional Tournament is considered the preliminary tournament for the NCAA Championship Tournament and fields 27 qualifying teams and six qualifying individuals from both district 7 and district 8 as well as at-large qualifiers. The NCAA regional breakdown is as follows:
District 7 6 Teams, 2 Individuals
District 8 12 Teams, 1 Individual
At-Large 9 Teams from national pool, 3 individuals
A single 18-hole practice round will be conducted at the Riverbend Golf Course on Wednesday, May 17 beginning at 8 a.m. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7:12 a.m., Thursday, May 18. The top nine teams finishing at the NCAA West Regionals advance to the finals in Auburn/Opelika, Ala. A complete schedule of events including tournament hosts, daily scheduled activities and travel and lodging can be found on the Fresno State website at www.gobulldogs.com.
NCAA West Regional Media Credentials
All requests for media credentials must be put in writing and can be faxed to the Fresno State Athletic Media Relations Office at (559) 278-4689. Credentials shall be assigned to accredited members of the media only and requests should include the media outlet represented. Requests should be made at least two weeks in advance.
