Blue Raiders headed to South Carolina for NCAA Salem Regional

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's golf will make its 11th appearance as a team in the last 15 NCAA postseasons this week as it heads to Salem, S.C., for the NCAA Salem Regional. The Blue Raiders will take the course May 15-17 at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls with their sights set on making the top five and advancing to the NCAA Championship.

MTSU is led by Conference USA Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference Owen Stamper, the No. 162-ranked player in the country per Golfstat. Joining Stamper are Second Team All-C-USA honoree Michael Barnard, Third Team selection Kevin Jegers, and C-USA Freshman of the Year Markus Varjun.

The Blue Raiders are coming off a second-place finish in stroke play at the Conference USA Championship followed by a match play semifinal loss to LA Tech.

Middle Tennessee is the No. 11 seed in the Salem Regional. The full field is as follows:

1. North Carolina

2. Georgia Tech

3. Texas A&M

4. San Diego State

5. Georgia Southern

6. Arkansas

7. Purdue

8. New Mexico

9. Clemson

10. Furman

11. Middle Tennessee

12. Northern Illinois University

13. Long Island University

14. Longwood

WEATHER FORECAST
The forecast for the tournament shows chances of rain and cloudy conditions throughout the tournament.

NOTES

The Blue Raiders enter the tournament ranked No. 70 in the Golfweek Collegiate Team Rankings and No. 64 in the most recent Golfstat rankings.
Owen Stamper is ranked No. 160 in the country in the most recent Golfweek rankings and No. 154 by Golfstat, the highest-ranked Conference USA player on either list.
Stamper's 205 (-11) at the Lake Las Vegas Invitational was a new career low.
Stamper leads the Blue Raiders with a scoring average of 71.0.
Stamper, Varjun and Barnard have combined for six Conference USA Player of the Week awards, the most in a season since MTSU joined the league.
MTSU returns three of its four players who played in 30 rounds or more in '21-22, including Barnard, Jegers, and Owen Stamper.

COACH'S COMMENTS: MARK MCENTIRE
"I'm really proud of this team for getting an at-large bid to the NCAA regional. I believe this team has what it takes to make a run and to make it through. We've just got to do a good job of staying disciplined, having fun and keeping it simple. If we do that, I think we will have a great week."

LINEUP
1. Owen Stamper
2. Michael Barnard
3. Gavin Clements
4. Kevin Jegers
5. Markus Varjun

TOURNAMENT INFO

	NCAA Salem Regional
Dates	Monday, May 15 - Wednesday, May 17
Course	The Cliffs at Keowee Falls Salem, S.C. Par 72, 7,126 yards
Format	18 holes each day
Teams (14)	North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, San Diego State, Georgia Southern, Arkansas, Purdue, New Mexico, Clemson, Furman, Middle Tennessee, Northern Illinois University, Long Island University, Longwood
Live Scoring	Golfstat

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Michael Barnard

Gavin Clements

Kevin Jegers

Owen Stamper

Markus Varjun

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