It wasn’t a matter of if; it was a matter of where.
The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats’ men’s golf team learned Tuesday that it will travel to Cle Elum, Washington, for the May 17-19 NCAA Regionals. The Wildcats will be the No. 4 seed in a 14-team group that includes No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Pepperdine and No. 3 Florida. The top five teams advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
“We’re really excited. The team has been playing great,†UA coach Jim Anderson said from Trident Grill II, where the team held an informal watch party. “I think this team is beaming with confidence right now.â€
The Wildcats were guaranteed a spot in the regionals after taking home the Pac-12 Championship last week. Their placement on the West Coast as an advantage, since they won’t have to travel nearly as far as some of the other top seeded-teams in their region — like Wake Forest and Florida.
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“Our time clock with wake-up calls and all those things will be pretty consistent with what we’re used to here at home,†Anderson said. “I think a lot of those things will benefit our team.â€
UA senior Brad Reeves believes Tumble Creek, located 85 miles southeast of the University of Washington, will have a similar feel as the conference championships.
“It’s very similar to what we just played in NorCal — especially me individually, I’ve played a lot of NorCal golf,†the Woodbridge, California, native said. “We’re all very familiar with that style of golf.â€
The forest-like feel of the course, the tall pine trees lining each side of the fairways — and of course, the possibility of rain — is “not something that we’ve never seen before.â€
Both Reeves and Anderson described the week since ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ won its first conference title since 2004 as “a whirlwind.†The Cats received an outpouring of congratulatory phone calls and texts from UA alumni and golfers in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ community.
“I hope (the team) got more rest than I did,†Anderson laughed.
The Wildcats must now put the accolades on the back burner as they prepare to battle the best teams in the country.
“The challenge for us is going to be trying to do our best to hit that reset,†Anderson said. “Our team is experienced and I believe that experience will allow them to reset appropriately.â€
The Cle Elum Region also consists of some familiar opponents. Washington, the region’s host school, is a No. 7 seed; Utah is ninth and Oregon is 10th.
“They’re not done,†Anderson said. “We believe we have more to accomplish this year.â€
