Tide Golf Team No. 1 in All Polls
4/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 23, 2008
TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama men's golf team jumped back into the top spot this week, from No. 2 last week, in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings after winning the 2008 Southeastern Conference Championship. That win has also helped the Crimson Tide hold on to its perch at the top of the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches' Poll.
Alabama received 18 of the 23 first-place votes in the Coaches' poll to remain the nation's No. 1 team. Georgia, who got two first-place votes, remains at No. 2. Southern California (USC) remains at No. 3 but shares that spot now with UCLA. USC received two first-place votes and UCLA one. At fifth and up one spot is Oklahoma State. Charlotte dropped two spots to No. 6. Florida climbed one spot to No. 7. Georgia Tech climbed two to No. 8. Florida State climbed two to No. 9, and Stanford, which dropped three spots, rounds out the Top 10 in the Coaches' poll at No. 10. At No. 11 is Tennessee, followed by South Carolina, Duke, Auburn, Chattanooga, UNLV, Clemson, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Central Florida, East Tennessee State, Indiana, Louisville, Wake Forest and Michigan State.
The Crimson Tide, coached by Jay Seawell, has won a school-record six tournament championships this season out of the 10 stroke-play events it has played. Four different Alabama golfers have earned medalist honors with individual tournament championships this season, including Joseph Sykora of Daphne, Mark Harrell of Hazlehurst, Ga., Matthew Swan of Montgomery, and Alabama's latest tournament champion, Michael Thompson of Tucson, Ariz., who won the SEC Championship on Sunday, April 20. The four different individual champions in one season is an Alabama single-season record.
Alabama is idle from competition until the NCAA Regionals which will be May 15-17. The fields for each of the three regionals will be announced at 5 p.m. CDT on Monday, May 5. Alabama likely will be the No. 1 seed in the NCAA East Regional which will be in Chattanooga, Tenn., at Council Fire Golf Club. The NCAA finals are May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind., hosted by Purdue University.
Players Mentioned
