April 23, 2010

Rau Earns NCAA Championship Bid in Men’s Golf

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Junior Matt Rau of the University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s golf team has been selected as one of four individuals to compete in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship. Cameron University in Duncan, Okla., will serve as host of the Regional at The Territory Golf and Country Club, which also includes teams and individuals from the South Central Region.

“I am very excited and honored to be selected to participate in the NCAA Super Regionals,” said Rau. “I am looking forward to competing in the postseason and hopefully play well enough to advance on to nationals.

“Although this is a big accomplishment for me, I am looking forward to getting another shot at making Super Regionals next year as a team. It is a thrill to make it individually, but would mean more to do it as a team.”

The 2010 NCAA Division II men’s golf super regional will be conducted May 3-5, and will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently with 10 teams and four individuals from non-qualifying teams from each region.

“I am very excited for Matt to have this opportunity,” said first-year head men’s golf coach Troy Halterman. “He has played well all spring and was definitely deserving of the invitation.”

There will be four regional sites in which two regions will meet and conduct regional tournaments. The regional tournaments will be paired as follows:

Atlantic and East
South and Southeast
Midwest and South Central
Central and West

The top five teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the finals May 18-21 at The Sagamore Club in Noblesville, Ind. The finals will be hosted by the Indiana Sports Corporation, the University of Indianapolis, the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Hamilton County Sports Authority.

Also competing individually in the Midwest Region are Clark Fry of Rockhurst, Jay Overy of Ashland and Paul Dagys of Lewis. Midwest Region teams include Ferris State, Wayne State (Mich.), Indianapolis, Grand Valley State, Drury, Northern Kentucky, Wisconsin-Parkside, Saginaw Valley State, Findlay and Bellarmine.

Teams from the South Central Region include Abilene Christian, Central Missouri, St. Edwards, St. Mary’s (Texas), Dallas Baptist, Midwestern State, Cameron, Central Oklahoma, Newman and East Central. Individuals include Brad Nipper of Southwest Baptist, Kyle Fouts of Northeastern State, Dustin Yeager of Washburn and Brady Wood of Northeastern State.

Rau has been among the leaders for the Tritons this year, owning a 75.5 average. He has four top-10 finishes, including medalist honors at the Illinois-Springfield Invitational, where he shot a season-best round of 67 on the first 18 holes.

“I truly believe Matt has a chance to advance to the NCAA finals if he plays to his ability,” said Halterman. “He has played some great golf at times and just needs to put together three consistent rounds at the regional.”

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