TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats golf program will begin its postseason quest Monday morning in the Louisville Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Cats will open play Monday, May 13 and play 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The top five teams from the Louisville Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships. The Wildcats, making their second-straight postseason appearance, enter the Regional as the No. 9 seed.
"Our team is very excited for the Louisville Regional," coach
Jim Anderson said. "Based on what we know about the course, I think it sets up great for this team. We have guys who drive the ball very well and we have seen good scores on courses where scoring is generally low. The preparation this week has centered around putting, chipping and wedging because we anticipate good drives giving us quality looks at birdies."
Arizona will send a team of six golfers to Louisville and will have a lineup of five with one alternate. The players who will attend are:
Trevor Werbylo,
David Laskin,
Ethan Marcus,
Brad Reeves,
Briggs Duce and
Santeri Lehesmaa. Anderson has until Monday morning to set his lineup for the first day.
Werbylo, a sophomore from nearby Salpointe Catholic High School, led the way for the Wildcats this season and will look to do so again in the postseason. Werbylo had a scoring average of 70.86 this season in 37 rounds. He had six Top 10 finishes and eight Top 20 finishes. He had 20 rounds of par or better.
Laskin also had a strong season with a 72.03 scoring average in 12 tournaments. Laskin, who had 15 rounds of par or better, had three Top 10 finishes and five Top 20 finishes. Marchs and Reeves each finished inside the Top 10 once this season and are third and fourth in scoring averages for the team.
"The key for this team will be to remain patient, loose, confident and calm because Regionals can be a little bit of a roller coaster," Anderson said. "The teams who steady the challenges best usually enjoy the ride, play well and have a great week."
As the No. 9 seed, the Wildcats will be grouped with No. 7 Iowa State and No. 8 West Virginia. Arizona's first tee time is set for 5:25 a.m., MST Monday. Players will tee off every 11 minutes with Arizona's final golfer going off at 6:09 a.m.
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