Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers to Get Preview of NCAA Central Regional
9/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana men's golf team heads to Notre Dame, Ind., for a preview of this year's NCAA Central Regional on Friday-Sunday, Sept. 17-19. The University of Notre Dame will host the event at the Warren Golf Course (Notre Dame) and the Lost Dunes Golf Club (Bridgman, Mich.). Warren is setup as a par 71 with a yardage of 7,011, while Lost Dunes is setup as a par 71 with a yardage of 6,905.
The event consists of three rounds, 18 holes played on each day. Friday's round will take place at Lost Dunes, with the final two rounds being held at Warren. Along with the Hoosiers, 14 other teams will be competing at the event, including Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Northwestern. Filling out the field is Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kent State, Missouri, Notre Dame, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tulsa and Xavier.
Tournament action begins Friday, with play beginning from the 1st and 10th tees at 9 a.m. The second round starts on Saturday from the 1st and 10th tees at 8 a.m., and the final round will be a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.
IU looks to rebound from last weekend's ninth-place finish at the Michigan-Radrick Farms Intercollegiate in Ann Arbor, Mich. Despite the finish, senior All-American candidate Jeff Overton closed the event tying for 13th with a 2-over-par 218 (73-70-75). Junior Brad Marek posted the low round of the weekend, firing a 69 in the final round to move into a tie for 24th.
PARTICIPATING HOOSIERS
The Hoosiers will send a team of five players, including seniors Jeff Overton and Heath Peters, juniors Scott Seibert and Brad Marek, and freshman Santiago Quirarte. Overton, Peters and Marek will make their second starts of the season, while Seibert makes his debut. Last season, Seibert participated in 29 rounds, compiling a 75.92 scoring average. Quirarte will be appearing in his second event this season after participating as an individual at the Michigan-Radrick Farms Intercollegiate. The University of Michigan will serve as host of the tournament at the Radrick Farms Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich. The course is setup as a par 72 with a yardage of 6, 979.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Complete tournament results will be made available on the web at IUHOOSIERS.com following the event. For more information, contact Jeff Keag at (812) 855-6209 or through e-mail at jkeag@indiana.edu.
QUOTING HEAD COACH Mike Mayer
"We're excited to be in the tournament. The Central Regional Preview is one of the top tournaments this fall with a great field. We get a chance to preview Notre Dame's golf course, so it's a great opportunity for us.
"I'm looking for a lot more focus from our team. We weren't very sharp last weekend, and we weren't sharp heading into last weekend. I want us to play a lot better, a lot sharper, a lot tougher and not give so many strokes away.
"I look for Jeff Overton to have a much better tournament simply because it is a much better tournament and field. It makes it a little easier for him to play. I also look for Heath Peters to have a better tournament. These two are special players and should be competing week in and week out.
"Brad Marek's 69 in the final round at Michigan will go a long way to helping him produce better. His first two rounds were very mediocre, but he shot a good, solid round. He can really help the team."
MAREK GOES LOW
Junior Brad Marek closed out the Michigan-Radrick Farms Intercollegiate on a high note, firing a career-best 69 in the closing round of the event. The junior's previous low round came at the 2003 El Diablo 21-Man Invite (70). Marek's round was the lowest round of any Hoosier in the event and moved him into a tie for 24th. The Arlington Heights, Ill., native ended the event with 221 (75-77-69), matching the second-best 54-hole score of his career.
NO BREAK FOR OVERTON
Following his All-American campaign last season, Jeff Overton continued his success into the summer, culminating with a run to the semifinals at the U.S. Amateur. After winning his first four matches to advance to the semifinals, Overton lost to the defending NCAA champion and UNLV senior Ryan Moore, 2 and 1, at Winged Foot Golf Club, host of the 2006 U.S. Open.
In addition to his performance at the U.S. Amateur, Overton got a taste of international competition. The Evansville, Ind., native won two matches as the United States defeated Japan at the 2004 Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championships.
Overton also finished second at the prestigious Porter Cup, one shot behind New Mexico junior Spencer Levin. Additionally, the Big Ten Player of the Year won his second straight Indiana State Amateur title, making him the fourth person to win back-to-back titles since the championship switched to stroke play in 1973.
HOOSIERS IN THE RANKINGS
Golf World and Golfweek released their preseason polls and senior Jeff Overton was recognized by both publications, while Indiana received votes in the Golf World preseason coaches poll.
Overton was ranked fourth on Golf World's "Top 50 Male Players to Watch" list, and Golfweek ranked Overton on its preseason All-American first team.
DUO SET TO LEAD
The Hoosiers return a pair of award winners who are ready to lead IU to the NCAA Championships. Coming off a season in which he became the first golfer since Randy Leen (1997) to advance to the NCAA Championships, where he tied for 20th, Jeff Overton was selected as a second team All-American. Additionally, Overton was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year, honored as the Les Bolstad Award winner and was an All-Midwest District honoree.
Overton wasn't the only Hoosier to pick up hardware, as teammate Heath Peters was named second team All-Big Ten. Peters also joined Overton on the All-Midwest Region squad.
BANNER SEASON
After returning to the NCAA Tournament last season, expectations are high for the Indiana men's golf team entering the 2004-05 season. The 2003-04 squad advanced to the NCAA Central Regionals in West Lafayette, Ind., finishing tied for 20th at the event.
Last season was a breakthrough year for the Hoosiers. In addition to advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1996-97 campaign, IU captured four team titles, the second most in the school's history and the most since the 1974-75 season. The Hoosiers also carded the lowest stroke average in the program's history for the second consecutive season (291.84).
