Junior Jonathan Hodge

Courtesy: GoMocs.com

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- For the second straight year, Chattanooga has a berth in the NCAA East Regional.  The 13th-ranked Mocs will attempt to earn its first appearance in the finals May 15-17 at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga.

UTC has won three tournaments in a row and four of its last six.  In its other two starts, Chattanooga recorded second and third-place finishes.  For the season, the Mocs have a school-record five titles and a national-best 141 wins.

The regional field features 27 teams and six individuals with the top 10 teams moving on to the finals at Purdue, May 28-31.  Out of the 27 teams in the East, 18 are ranked in the top 50 in the country.

WHO:  Jonathan Hodge/Mark Guhne.  Hodge repeated as Southern Conference Player of the Year.  Guhne is in his third season at the helm of the Mocs program.  All three years his peers have named him SoCon Coach of the Year.

WHAT:  NCAA East Regional

WHEN:  Thur-Sat., May 15-17 (18 holes per day – 54 holes total)

WHERE:  Council Fire Golf Club; Chattanooga, Tenn.  (Par 71/6,961 yards)

HOW:  The Mocs won a school record five tournaments in 2007-08 including the SoCon Championship earning the league’s automatic bid.

CHATTANOOGA PRE-TOURNAMENT NOTES

CHATTANOOGA STATISTICS

QUOTABLE:  “What a great opportunity lies before us,” said Head Coach Mark Guhne.  “This is a great field so it will be a huge test for our team.  Last year I think we were kind of just happy to be there, now we have a better understanding of the task before us.  One thing is certain, we need to come out ready to play because there is no coasting along to get to nationals.”

TOURNAMENT FIELD (Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings Index):  No. 1 Georgia (2), No. 2 Charlotte (9), No. 3 South Carolina (12), No. 4 Duke (14), No. 5 CHATTANOOGA (13), No. 6 Auburn (16), No. 7 East Tennessee State (21), No. 8 Michigan State (20), No. 9 Ole Miss (31), No. 10 UAB (28), No. 11 Virginia Tech (34), No. 12 North Carolina State (32), No. 13 Mississippi State (38), No. 14 Georgia State (47), No. 15 North Florida (45), No. 16 UC-Irvine (49), No. 17 Augusta State (50), No. 18 SMU (40), No. 19 Middle Tennessee (55), No. 20 Coastal Carolina (62), No. 21 Memphis (60), No. 22 Virginia (65), No. 23 Western Carolina (71), No. 24 Colorado State (82), No. 25 New Mexico State (84), No. 26 Western Illinois (168), No. 27 Jackson State (259).

TOP 25 (GOLFSTAT) IN EAST REGIONAL FIELD:  (1) Georgia, (5) Charlotte, (7) South Carolina, (12) Duke, (15) CHATTANOOGA, (16) Auburn, (21) East Tennessee State, (24) Michigan State.

INDIVIDUALS:  Keegan Bradley, St John’s; Jose Toledo, New Orleans; Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama; Michael McGrady, Troy; Jon Curran, Vandy; Grant Leaver, Austin Peay.