Maryland Prepares for NCAA Regional Golf

May 18, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland men's golf team makes its fourth trip to the NCAA postseason in as many seasons this weekend when it travels to Nashville to play in the NCAA East Regional. The young Terps are the 25th seed in the East Regional, and will take four sophomores and a junior to The Golf Club of Tennessee.

Head Coach Tom Hanna directs his alma mater in his 14th season in the position... Hanna has taken Maryland as a team now to six NCAA tournaments in 14 seasons after the Terrapins missed a berth from 1977 through 1993 prior to Hanna's arrival.

The 2005 version of the Terrapins lingered on the NCAA bubble through most of the spring before having a breakthrough performance at the Rutherford Intercollegiate, hosted by Penn State. Led by junior John Eades' medalist effort with a 16-under-par 200, the Terrapins passed four District 2 teams with a final-round 279 to finish second and clinch the NCAA berth. Maryland was ninth at the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, and will be one of seven ACC teams at the East Regional.

John Eades will be the veteran member of the Maryland quintet in Nashville. Eades, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., plays in his third NCAA regional. He is coming off one of the best performances in recent years by a Terrapin player, having won the Rutherford Intercollegiate. His final-round 64 helped Maryland lose "bubble" status and claim the NCAA berth. Eades was also the medalist at the Princeton Invitational this spring and has either been first or second on the team in all but one event this year. Eades leads the Terps in scoring average (72.9), under-par rounds (9), rounds in the 60s (5) and rounds counted (.970).

Sophomore Tyler Witman is the other Terrapin player to have earned medalist honors at an event this season, leading the Terps to the first-place finish at The McLaughlin with scores of 71-71-70--212 to win. Witman is averaging 75.0 this season, including a strong 72.7 in five Fall 2004 events. He has four top-10 finishes this season, including a team-best T8th recently at the Cavalier Classic.

Sophomore Hunter Bendall has solidified his place in the lineup with a strong spring. He tied for eighth at the William & Mary Invitational, placing as the second-leading scorer for Maryland at that event. Bendall then led his teammates with a T14 finish at the LSU Spring Invitational, firing a 5-over-par 221 over those three rounds. In six spring events, his score has counted toward the team total in 16 of 17 rounds.

Sophomore Tully Coyle cracked the Terrapin lineup this spring after transferring from the University of Tulsa. Coyle made the most of his Maryland debut, leading the Terps with a T31 finish at the Palmetto Invitational with a 77-73-77--227 total. He had a final-round 71 to help the Terps at the Rutherford.

Matt Schall is finishing an up-and-down spring on a high note, returning to the lineup for the NCAA East Regional. Schall, who missed the ACC Championship, earned his way to Nashville with strong late-season efforts. He tied for 10th while playing as an individual at the Cavalier Classic, then played to a 9-over 225 at the Rutherford. Schall's best finish of the year was a second at the McLaughlin last fall.

Players Mentioned

Hunter Bendall

John Eades

Matt Schall

Tyler Witman

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