ODU GOLFERS MAKE FIRST NCAA TOURNEY
The 2003 Colonial Athletic Association Golf Champion Old Dominion University Monarchs will be competing in their first ever NCAA Golf Tournament, May 15-17, at the Washington National Golf Course in Seattle, the home course of the University of Washington.
The Monarchs who captured the CAA Championship back on May 31 will be led by CAA individual champion Geoffrey Harris, one of five finalists for the Byron Nelson Award. The 2003 Old Dominion University Male Scholar Athlete of the Year has a 71.55 scoring average, the best in ODU history, which ranks him 26th nationally. He is currently ranked 51st nationally and second in the district by the Sagarin power ratings. Harris won two tournaments this year, placed fourth or better six times and had ten top ten finishes in 12 outings.
Teammates Chris Kline, Chris Piercy and Nick Kenney also had outstanding seasons. Kline took fourth at the Carolina First Tournament. Piercy was third at the ODU Seascape and ninth at the Mission Collegiate. Kenney placed fifth at the Mission Collegiate and ninth at the Bradford Collegiate.
As a team, the Monarchs won two tournaments and had eight top five finishes in 12 events under the direction of head coach Murray Rudisill, in his 28th season. The last Monarch to compete in the NCAA's was Jon Hurst in 1991. He took sixth in the East Regionals and then advanced to the National Championships where he earned All-American honors.
The NCAA National Championships will be at the Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla., hosted by Oklahoma State, May 27-30.