May 14, 2008

ARLINGTON, Texas - - UT Arlington's men's golf team tees off Thursday at the NCAA Central Regional Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

The Mavericks received an at-large bid to the postseason, thanks to a record-breaking fall and solid spring. UTA is ranked No. 52 in the latest Golfstat.com rankings. Twenty-seven teams are invited to the regional tournament, and each is in search of a Top 10 finish that earns a trip to nationals.

UTA has been practicing for a little more than a week since hearing the news that it would be making the trip and competing on par-71 Ohio State University Scarlet Course. Mavericks coach Jay Rees, who has now taking four teams to regionals in nine seasons, says his team is ready.

"We've had a very good week of practice leading up to this," Rees said. "Everything that we could do to prepare is done. Now, it's just up to the boys to perform like I know they are capable of doing. I told them to just go out there, have fun and do their best. If it ends up getting us a trip to national, that's great. If not, at least we know that we did everything we could to get ready."

Teams play one round each day Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Fans can follow the tournament live on www.golfstatresults.com