New Haven, Conn. -- The Penn State men's golf team completed one of the greatest performances in program history last weekend by finishing in second place in the 27-team field NCAA East Regional. The Nittany Lions, who entered the regional as the No. 19 seed, beat seven top-20 teams to earn their first berth in the NCAA Championships since 1996. The top-10 teams and top two individuals from other schools advance to the NCAA Championships, June 1-4 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.
Penn State, which led No. 1 Florida by one stroke entering the final round, shot a seven-over 287 for a three-day total of 862 (290-285-287), +22 on the Par 70 The Course at Yale. Clemson, ranked No. 2 in the nation and the defending national champion, shot a three-under 277 today to win the regional crown with an 856 total, +16.
"It was just an enormous effort," said Penn State head coach Greg Nye. "We had played well at the Big Tens and last weekend at the Maxwell and just continued to play even better this weekend. When the pressure was on, we got better. After finishing the first round in fifth place, we proved we were more than up to the task on Friday and again today (Saturday). We beat some great programs head-to-head. We're excited to be returning to the NCAA finals."
The Nittany Lions were led by junior Greg Pieczynski (Kingston, Pa.), who shot a one-under 69 Saturday for a three-day one-over total of 211 (71-71-69). Pieczynski tied for fourth place on the individual leaderboard. Junior Mark Leon (Brampton, Ontario) shot a 216 (73-71-72), sophomore Marco Poccia (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) shot a 219 (73-73-73), senior Ted Neville (Oklahoma City, Okla.) had a 220 (73-70-77) and freshman Jason Pannone (East Greenwich, R.I.) shot a 226 (77-76-73).
The lowest four scores count for the team total. There were eight teams ranked in the top-20 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in the East Regional field and the Nittany Lions defeated seven of them to advance the NCAA Championships. Among the squads Penn State defeated last weekend are some of the elite in college golf, including No. 1 ranked Florida, Georgia (No. 3), Georgia Tech (No. 6), South Carolina (No. 12), Augusta State (No. 14), Wake Forest (No. 16) and Duke (No. 18).
Penn State is ranked No. 72 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Following Clemson (856) and Penn State (862) in the final standings were Georgia and Georgia Tech (864), Florida (866), Auburn (867), Georgia State (871), Rhode Island (877) and Vanderbilt (880). North Carolina and North Carolina State tied for the 10th at 882, with the Tar Heels winning a playoff to become the East Regional's final qualifier. The top individual was Wake Forest's Bill Haas, the National Player of the Year, who shot a three-under 207.
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