JEFFERSON CITY,
Mo. - The ACU Wildcats begin defense of their NCAA Division II South
Central / Midwest Super Region championship on Monday at the Jefferson
City Country Club.
The 54-hole
tournament begins Monday and will conclude Wednesday at the par-72,
7,717-yard layout at the Jefferson City C.C. ACU and Central Oklahoma
shared the regional title last year after the Wildcats
lost as much as a 16-stroke lead in the final round to fall into the tie
with UCO.
ACU enters the
tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South Central Region behind No. 1
St. Edward's and No. 2 Central Oklahoma. Lone Star Conference champion
Cameron is in the field as the No. 8 seed, while
Midwestern State is the No. 7 seed and West Texas A&M is the No. 10
seed. Along with UCO, another former LSC member, Northeastern State at
No. 9, is in the field.
The Wildcats
enter the tournament coming off a second-place finish at the LSC
Tournament two weeks at The Trophy Club. ACU played the first nine
holes in 14-over-par and then went 14-under-par the rest
of the day. The Wildcats, in fact, were a combined 11-under-par over
the final 45 holes of the tournament after getting off to the poor
start. A good start, ACU head coach Mike Campbell, is imperative for
the Wildcats at the regional tournament.
"We just had a
bad start, and that cost us," Campbell said. "We just have to focus on
getting off to a good start. If we can do that, I think we'll have a
good chance to make the national tournament."
The top five
teams and the top two individuals not with a team from each regional
(regardless of region) will advance to the national championship
tournament, which will be played May 15-19, at The Cardinal
Club in Simpsonville, Ky., as part of the 2012 NCAA Division II Spring
Championships Festival. The Festival will be hosted by Bellarmine
University the Louisville Sports Commission.
The other teams
in the field are No. 4 Washburn (Kan.), Heartland Conference champion
Arkansas-Fort Smith at No. 5, and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics
Association champion Central Missouri at No.
6.
The teams from
the Midwest Region in the tournament are No. 1 Northern Kentucky, No. 2
Ferris State (Mich.), No. 3 Indianapolis, No. 4 Grand Valley State
(Mich.), No. 5 Bellarmine (Ky.), No. 6 Tiffin (Ohio),
No. 7 Northwood (Mich.), No. 8 Ashland (Ohio), No. 9 Findlay (Ohio), and
No. 10 Wayne State (Mich.).
The latest Golf
World / Nike Golf Division II College Coaches' poll has a handfuil of
teams in the two regions ranked with ACU checking in as the
highest-ranked team at No. 10. Also ranked in the latest
poll are Central Oklahoma (No. 11), St. Edward's (No. 12), Indianapolis
(No. 20), and Central Missouri (No. 24) with several teams receiving
votes in the latest poll.