May 11, 2004

The NCAA Men's Golf Regional selections were announced via conference call Monday evening, and the Patriot League service academies each received good news. Patriot League champion Army was one of 27 teams selected to compete in the East Regional, and Navy's Billy Hurley was one of six players added to the Tournament to compete for individual honors.

The Black Knights are the No. 26 seed in the East Regional, which is hosted by Yale University on May 20-22. Army is making its second appearance in the NCAA Regional in three years, two years removed from a trip to Little Rock, Ark., for the 2002 Central Regional.

On the same day Navy senior golfer Billy Hurley (Leesburg, Va.) was selected to play in the 2004 NCAA Golf East Regional as an individual, he learned he is one of five finalists for the 2004 Byron Nelson Award.

D.J. Reeves, who finished second in the Patriot League Tournament and will the PL champion Black Knights in the 27-team NCAA East Regional at Yale on May 20-22

The Black Knights earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the 2004 Patriot League Tournament in Hamilton, N.Y. Army overcame less than ideal weather conditions to win the conference title by a 13-stroke margin over second-place Lehigh with a 54-hole tally of 930. Army's D.J. Reeves was the runner-up in the individual competition with a composite score of 229, just six strokes behind Hurley.

Junior Scott Manley owns the lowest stroke average on the squad at 74.8 and is the only player on the Black Knight roster with NCAA Tournament experience. Manley was the top Army finisher at the 2002 Central Regional, placing 108th with a 54-hole total of 234 (76-77-81). Army finished 26th in that regional with a composite score of 953 (319-318-316).

Army will join Florida, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Augusta State, Wake Forest, Duke, Tennessee, North Carolina, Louisiana State, Georgia State, Jacksonville State, N.C. State, Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, Penn State, Georgetown, Towson, Rhode Island, Maryland, Binghamton, Yale and Long Island in the East Regional. The Black Knights have already competed against eight of the teams slated for the East Regional, including Penn State, Georgetown, Towson, Rhode Island, Maryland, Binghamton, Yale and Long Island.

The top ten teams and two individuals from each of the three regionals advance to the NCAA Championship, to be held June 1-4 at Cascades Golf Course, The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.

The golf team is the third Army spring sport to gain an NCAA Tournament bid, joining the baseball team and men's lacrosse. A total of five Black Knight athletic squads qualified for the postseason in the 2003-04 academic season as men's gymnastics and rifle both reached the NCAA Tournament in the winter season.

Hurley was one-of-six players to earn the right to play in the East Regional after their respective teams did not make the regional cut. He will join Alabama's Lars Brovold, South Alabama's Gareth Maybin, Virginia Tech's Ryan Stinnett, Tennessee State's Robert Dinwiddie and Winthrop's Matt Johnson.

Somewhat of an NCAA Tournament veteran, Hurley will play in the regional for the third time in four years. As a freshman, Hurley survived Sea Trials, an annual mandatory military training event for all freshmen at the Academy, before taking a red-eye flight out to Corvallis, Ore. to compete with his teammates in the 2001 NCAA West Regional. He tied for 101st with a 15-over par 231 (76-78-77), Navy's second-lowest score.

Last spring, Hurley and the Midshipmen were sent back to the West Coast, this time playing at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash. It was that particular tournament which was the turning point in Hurley's career. He narrowly missed the individual cut which would have advanced him into the NCAA Championship, finishing tied for 27th with a 4-over par 220. It was the best score by a Navy player at the NCAA Tournament since Tom Flory placed 19th at the 1963 NCAA Championship.

Of the 50 collegiate meets in which Hurley participated in during his four-year career, he produced seven wins, finished in the top-five 25 times and the top-10 31 times. A four-time All-Patriot League selection, Hurley was one of the first-two players to be named to the 2004 Palmer Cup presented by Monster Team and is the first player to represent a service academy in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition. He was also on the watch list for the 2004 The Ben Hogan Award and was named the 2004 Patriot League Player of the Year after capturing the Patriot League Tournament title.

Candidates for the Nelson Award must be a graduating senior and the selection committee will consider equally a nominee's entire collegiate academic career, entire collegiate golf career and his character and integrity while in college. Particular consideration will be given to a nominee's good citizenship, as portrayed by Mr. Byron Nelson over the course of his life and golf career.

East Regional
Yale Golf Course in New Haven, Conn.

Individuals:
1. Lars Brovold, Alabama
2. Billy Hurley, Navy
3. Gareth Maybin, South Alabama
4. Ryan Stinnett, Virginia Tech
5. Robert Dinwiddie, Tennessee State
6. Matt Johnson, Winthrop

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Florida
2. Clemson
3. Georgia (SEC)
4. Georgia Tech
5. South Carolina
6. Augusta State
7. Wake Forest
8. Duke
9. Tennessee
10. North Carolina
11. LSU
12. Georgia State
13. Jacksonville State
14. N.C. State
15. Alabama-Birmingham
16. Auburn
17. Vanderbilt
18. Georgia Southern
19. Penn State
20. Georgetown
21. Towson
22. Rhode Island
23. Maryland
24. Binghamton
25. Yale
26. ARMY
27. Long Island