Clayton State qualifies for NCAA Division II Southeast Men’s Golf Regional
20th-ranked Lakers making their first trip to NCAA postseason play since 2003

MORROW, Ga. – April 30, 2008 – Fresh off its unprecedented runner-up finish at the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament last week, the Clayton State Laker men’s golf team learned early in the week that it has qualified for the 2008 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional next week at the Point Lake Golf Club in Mooresville, N.C.

It’s the first NCAA regional berth for the 20th-ranked Lakers since the 2003 season.

"The team is excited to be getting back into the NCAAs," said Clayton State head coach Barry Harwell.  "We hope to continue the strong play we’ve had this spring. We have the ability, but this is a much bigger event than the conference championship."

The 54-hole event is set for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Point Lake Golf Club with 18 holes each day. Both the Southeast and Atlantic Regionals will be played at Point Lake, with the winners of each regional plus the next three teams, regardless of the region, advancing to next week’s NCAA Division II National Championship in Houston, Texas on May 17-14.

The low individual not on an advancing team will also qualify for the National Championship.

Clayton State is seeded fourth in the Southeast Regional. Fourth-ranked USC-Aiken, which defeated Clayton State by 10 strokes at the Peach Belt Conference championship, is the top seed in the regional, followed by ninth-ranked Georgia College and seventh-ranked Columbus State.

Rounding out the Southeast Regional is 24th-ranked Lander seeded fifth, 17th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic seeded sixth, South Atlantic Conference champion Newberry at seventh and Carson-Newman is seeded eighth.

The Lakers will be paced by All-Peach Belt Conference selection and Peach Belt Conference individual champion Will Wilcox. The junior from Pell City, Ala., leads both the Peach Belt and the Southeast Region in scoring average at 71.0. In addition, sophomore Wade Binfield is coming off a third-place finish at the Peach Belt and has a 75.0 average.

Juniors Jonathan Visconti (75.6) and Neil McBride (77.2) and freshman Kevin Duncan (79.0) round out the Clayton State line-up.