The Hawkeye men’s golf team has been selected to play in the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, the eighth-consecutive NCAA appearance for the squad.
The regional will be hosted by New Mexico and held at the Championship Course in Albuquerque on May 16-18.
Iowa head coach Tyler Stith hopes to use his experience to prepare the golfers to be at their best.
“We’re happy about the selection,” he said in a release. “I’ve been to this golf course three times, and I think it suits us really well. I know the guys are going to really enjoy it, and we’re all really looking forward to the opportunity.”
The postseason opportunity comes at a good time for the Hawkeyes; they’ve finished in the top five in the last three tournaments.
At the April 2-3 Arizona State Thunderbird the Hawkeyes took fifth place against top competition. They backed up that performance at the April 16-17 Hawkeye Invitational when they finished second. And in their most recent tournament, they continued great play with another second-place finish at the April 22-24 Big Ten Championships.
“I think the last three tournaments, we’ve played have been our best of the spring. We’ve gotten better each and every week. The guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now, and I know they’re excited to get back out and compete again,” Stith said in a release.
The Hawkeyes are slated as the No. 10 seed in the Albuquerque Regional. In order to advance to the next round ,they’ll need to finish in the top five. If they do advance, the next stop is the NCAA Finals, at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon, on May 27-June 1.
Senior leader Nate Yankovich is excited about the postseason opportunity.
“This marks our eighth-straight regional appearance and what an honor that is,” he said in a release. “It’s really exciting, and we’re all looking forward to getting down to New Mexico and putting together three solid rounds of golf.”
Yankovich hopes to lead the team to its fourth NCAA Championship Finals berth in the last eight years and 16th appearance in program history.
Last year, Iowa failed to make it to the NCAA Finals, placing sixth at the NCAA Yale Regional, 1 stroke behind eventual national champion LSU. The last time the Hawkeyes qualified for the NCAA Finals was in 2012.
An NCAA Finals appearance will be a tough task for the Hawks; their regional is full of quality competition.