April 18, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State men's golf team will wrap-up its season early next week as they play host to the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Tournament at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga. on April 21-23, 2008.

The three-day event will played on the par-71 Woodlands Course and will feature 10 teams including the Owls, as Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate are not eligible during their transition to Division I.

It will be the second appearance for the Owls at the Conference Championship and the first time that they have served as host. Kris Shepherd led the team to a fifth place finish last year at the Golf Club at Sanctuary Cove in Waverly, Ga., finishing at 223 and a tie for eighth.

The Owls will bring in an experienced squad this season, as three of the five members of the team competed in last year's championship. Oliver West closed with a final round 70 to finish at 226 and a tie for 12th, while Michael Tulacz improved his score daily, coming in with a tie for 15th at 227.

Wesley Sheard will also be returning for his second chance at an A-Sun Championship. The redshirt senior from Harare, Zimbabwe, finished tied for 28th in 2006-07, capped off by a final round 73.

The Black and Gold are also familiar with the course, as it is the same tract where they earned their first victory of the season three weeks ago. The host Owls ran away with the title at the Inaugural Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational on March 31-April 1, besting their closest competitor by 22 strokes for the commanding victory.

J.P. Putnam paced the squad, finishing fifth on the strength of three solid rounds. West, who turned in a career-low 68 in the second round, finished a stroke behind Putnam in a tie for sixth. Matthew Nagy, who will be the fifth member of the Owls squad competing in this year's Championship, finished just outside of the top 10 in a tie for 11th at 223.

In addition to a shot at the conference title, KSU is playing for a berth in the NCAA East Regional. The Owls, who are currently ranked No. 96 by Golfstat.com, will get an automatic bid with a win, and will give themselves a good chance at an at-large bid with a strong showing.

"There is no guessing as to what it is that we have to do," said Kennesaw State head coach Blake Smart on the pressure on his team to turn in a good performance. "The guys are confident after winning the Nelson here, so now we have to go out and execute on all three days to give ourselves a shot at the title and a Regional berth."

Defending champion, No. 20 ETSU, is the favorite to win the event for the second-straight year while No. 47 North Florida comes in a close second. Kennesaw State has maintained a high level of play throughout the spring season and will come in as the third-highest ranked team in the field.

A strong performance by Tulacz will give him the opportunity to set a pair of school single season D-I records. The junior from Connelly, N.Y., needs to average 72 or better in the tournament's three rounds to hold onto his single-season low scoring average of 72.2, surpassing Shepherd's previous mark of 72.5 set last year.

Tulacz will also set the single-season mark for winning percentage with a top 10 finish. He trails Shepherd's season-best mark of .839 by one-tenth of a percentage point, currently standing at .838.

The team as a whole is also on pace to set the single season marks for scoring average and winning percentage. They are currently averaging 292 strokes per 18 holes, nearly four strokes better than their previous best mark of 295.5 set last season. Their current winning percentage, .641, is nearly seven percent higher than the previous low of .577 set in 2006-07.

The tournament will get underway at 8 a.m. with Stetson and Lipscomb in the first group. The Owls, who are paired with Jacksonville and Gardner-Webb, are scheduled to tee-off beginning at 9:40 a.m. The teams will play 18 holes each day with the champion being crowned on Wednesday.

The tournament is free to attend and open to the public. Directions and information can be found on the A-Sun's website at www.atlanticsun.org/mgolf/championship. Live scoring will be available through Golfstat with a link available on the KSU Athletics homepage.