May 5, 2009

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee has chosen the teams and individuals to participate in the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, with reining Atlantic 10 Champion Charlotte among those selected. Xavier freshman and Rookie of the Year Sebastian MacLean earned a spot on the Regional squad, as well.

Charlotte will compete at the championships, which will be conducted May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The University of Toledo is the host institution for this year's championships.

Charlotte, which won its fourth straight Atlantic 10 Championship, received an automatic NCAA bid and is the 12th seed in the regional hosted by Central Florida at Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. In the 49ers last trip to the Orlando area, Apr. 24-26, they won the A-10 Championship at the Mission Inn Resort and Golf Club in Howie-in-the-Hills, Fla. Charlotte is making its fifth straight NCAA appearance, the most consecutive NCAA bids by any team in Charlotte 49ers history. The 49ers have finished in the NCAA top 10 in each of the last two seasons. Charlotte posted a program-best third-place finish in 2007 and tied for eighth, last season.

"It's always an accomplishment to make regionals and you always want to be proud of that," said 49ers interim coach Adam Pry, the 2009 A-10 Coach of the Year. "That being said we certainly have our work cut out for us with 14 teams and only five spots (moving on to the NCAA finals). I'm looking forward to going back to Orlando where we just played and where we've had a lot of success over the last few years."

Pry will employ the same lineup used to win the A-10 title. That lineup will include A-10 medalist and two-time honorable mention all-America Corey Nagy, A-10 runner-up Stefan Wiedergruen, sophomore Will Golden and freshmen Paul Ferrier and Tyler Mitchell. Ferrier placed fifth at the A-10 Championship to earn all-conference honors.

Xavier's MacLean earned a spot in the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regional and will compete as one of five individuals selected to the regional held at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. from May 14-16.

The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship consists of six regionals, three including 13 teams and 10 individuals and the other including 14 teams and five individuals. MacLean is the second Musketeer all-time to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship as an individual; Jason Kokrak competed as an individual in 2007. The committee uses guidance from a combination of the Golfweek and Golfstat rankings during the selection process.

The low five teams from each regional qualify for the NCAA Finals at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio from May 26-30. The Finals will also include the low individual from each Regional from a team that did not qualify for the Finals.

"Sebastian put together one of the top springs in the country," said head coach Doug Steiner. "This will be a great experience for him and can only help our team as we look forward to a great 2009-10 season."

MacLean finished in the top-10 in XU's final five spring matches and broke the school's freshman scoring record. He was also named A-10 Rookie of the Year and earned five A-10 Rookie of the Week honors.