April 26, 2012
The ODU Monarch Golfers will compete in the 2012 CAA Men's Golf Championships. The event will tee-off Friday morning at the Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del. The 54-hole tournament will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the winning team earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.
Eleven men's teams will battle at the par 71, 7,043-yard South Course. Eight different schools have ever won the CAA men's golf championship title: former members East Carolina, Navy and Richmond, along with current members VCU, Old Dominion, UNCW, Georgia State and Towson.
Defending champion UNCW will look to capture its fourth CAA title. The Seahawks enter the tournament ranked second among the teams, while Old Dominion leads all teams a top the team standings ranked among the CAA. The Seahawks are led by the top two players ranked among the individuals heading into the tournament with Payne McLeod and Thomas Bass. ODU is led by Tom Wilde, Garth McGee and Neil Henderson, while the Monarchs boast five players among the Top 16.
Going into this weekend's CAA Championships, the Monarchs finished fourth or better in six tournaments and ninth or better in nine of the 10 events. ODU won the Pinehurst Intercollegiate and took second the Joe Agee and C&F BankTournaments. The Monarchs finished third in its ODU/Outerbanks Tournament and fourth at the Caribbean Intercollegiate and University of Maryland Intercollegiate.
Individually, Tom Wilde, Neil Henderson and Garth McGee have all been named CAA Golfers of the Week this season. Henderson tied for eight at Maryland, fifth at Caribbean and C&F bank events. Garth McGee tied for second at Pinehurstand Tom Wilde was eighth at the ODU/Outerbanks and fourth at Pinehurst.
Georgia State enters the tournament ranked third, while VCU, William & Mary and James Madison follow at fourth thru sixth. The local Blue Hens are ranked seventh among CAA teams followed by George Mason, Towson, Drexel and Hofstra.
Clemens Dvorak from GSU is ranked third among the individuals behind UNCW's top pair, while VCU's Marc Dobias and Panthers' Tyler Gruca follow at fourth and fifth. Jeremy Wells from William & Mary and Chase Sargent from VCU join ODU's McGee and Henderson among the Top 10 individuals.
Hofstra, Towson, UNCW, Drexel and JMU will tee-off the 1st tee on Friday morning, while ODU, Mason, W&M, VCU, GSU and Delaware will begin the split-tee start at #10.
The three-day event will open with split tees each day and live scoring will be available. Teams will start teeing off at 9a.m. each morning. The tournaments will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the award ceremonies.