May 17, 2008

BREMERTON, Wash. - The Florida State men's golf team finished in 21st place in the team standings as play in the NCAA West Regional Championship on the Olympic Course at the Golf Mountain Golf Course came to a close Saturday. The Seminoles were led in the individual standings by senior All-American Jonas Blixt who finished in a tied for 30th place. Neither the Seminoles as a team nor Blixt as an individual qualified to advance to next week's NCAA Championship finals.

No. 2 ranked Southern California won the regional championship with a two stroke victory over Oregon and a five stroke margin over Clemson of the ACC. The Trojans trailed the Ducks after the first round but took over the lead in the second round and held on to win the event. The top five team finishers had a decidedly Pac-10 flavor with Southern California, Oregon, Washington and UCLA taking four of the five final team finishes. Joey Benedetti of Oregon won the individual championship with a nine-under par score of 207.

Blixt (Hammaro, Sweden) led Florida State in the final standings with a five-over par score of 221 and led the Seminoles during the final round of the event with a two-under par score of 70. It marked the third time in his last five regional championship rounds that he had carded a single round score of even par or better. Blixt's score of 70 tied his regional championship career-low score; he also carded a 70 in the third round of the 2007 NCAA East Regional Championship.

Blixt closes his Florida State career as one of the most decorated golfers in school history. He is certain to earn All-America honors for the second time this season, is a two-time All-ACC honoree, became the first ACC individual Champion in school history in 2007 and led the Seminoles back to national prominence. Blixt helped the Seminoles to the 2008 ACC Championship - the first ACC championship in school history.

Sophomore Seath Lauer (Huntington, Ind.) finished in second among his Seminole teammates and in a tie for 71st place in the individual standings. He carded scores of 74-76-78 for a three round total of 228. He was followed in the team standings by freshman Drew Kittleson (tied for 114th place), sophomore Cameron Knight (tied for 114th place) and junior Matt Savage (tied for 121st place).

Florida State and ACC Coach of the Year Trey Jones enjoyed one of the top seasons in school history. In addition to advancing to the NCAA regional championship for the third consecutive season the Seminoles won three events this season - the Inverness Intercollegiate in the fall and the Seminole Intercollegiate and the ACC Championship in the spring. The Seminoles' victory at the Inverness Intercollegiate was Florida State's first team championship since the 1998 season. The three team wins for the Seminoles this year marked the first time since the 1994-95 fall and spring seasons that they have won at least three tournaments in a single year.

Additionally, Jones was named the ACC Coach of the Year and Blixt and Savage earned All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season. The Seminoles, who lose only Blixt to graduation, earned six top-five team finishes in its six events during the spring 2008 season. The Seminoles finished in the top five in eight of their 10 tournaments during the fall 2007 and spring 2008 seasons.

NCAA West Regional Championship/Par 72/Final Florida State Results
Gold Mountain Golf Club/Olympic Course/Bremerton, Washington
21/27.   Florida State    304   305   305   914
T30.     Jonas Blixt      74    77    70    221
T71.     Seath Lauer      74    76    78    228
T114.    Drew Kittleson   80    77    78    235
T114.    Cameron Knight   79    78    79    236
T121.    Matt Savage      77    75    84    236

NCAA West Regional Championship/Par 72/FinalTeam Results
Gold Mountain Golf Club/Olympic Course/Bremerton, Washington
1.    Southern Cal      862   15.   North Carolina     895
2.    Oregon            864   16.   Oregon State       898
3.    Clemson           867   17.   Kentucky           900
4.    Washington        864   18.   Kansas State       902
5.    UCLA              876   19.   UCF                903
6.    Stanford          878   20.   California         904
7.    St. Mary's        884   21.   Florida State      914
8.    Arizona State     885   22.   LSU                916
T9.   Pepperdine        888   23.   Denver             919
T9.   San Diego State   888   24.   UNLV               920
T9.   Texas             888   25.   San Diego          927
12.   Texas Tech        889   26.   Navy               931
13.   Oklahoma          892   27.   Columbia           950
14.   Wisconsin         894