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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Badgers gain NCAA Regional bid

By BOB LAMB / La Crosse Tribune

The University of Wisconsin men’s golf team is headed west. The Badgers, under fifth-year coach Jim Schuman, gained their second straight NCAA Regional berth and are the 20th seed in the 27-team West Regional next week.

It’s the fifth time in the history of the Wisconsin men’s program that the Badgers have qualified for the regional tournament.

“This is fantastic. It’s great for us,” Schuman said Tuesday. “They’re all strong teams in the West Regional. All we have to do is go out there and play like we’re capable of playing.”

The University of Washington is playing host to the 27-team, 54-hole West Regional scheduled at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash., from May 15 through 17.

Southern California is the top seed in the West Regional. UCLA is No. 2, followed by Florida State and defending 2007 national champion Stanford. Clemson is the fifth seed.

Wisconsin is the only Big Ten Conference team in the West Regional. Big Ten champion Michigan State is the eighth seed in the East Regional, while Indiana, Penn State, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State will compete in the Central Regional.

Schuman said the top 10 teams from each regional advance to the NCAA Championship. Knowing his Badgers came within one stroke of qualifying for the NCAA Championship last year, Schuman believes this year’s team has another excellent chance.

“We’re very confident. There’s no reason not to be,” he said. “We have a great deal of potential. It’s all about playing our best.”

Schuman said there will be no qualifying among his team to decide which five players he takes to the regional. Jeff Kaiser, from Onalaska, Wis., and the only senior on the team, is one player who is definitely making the trip.

“Jeff is one of the travelers and I couldn’t be happier for the kid,” Schuman said. “We have to take the best five players to give us the opportunity to move on.”