May 18, 2005
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Led by Southland Conference freshman of the year Dawie Van Der Walt, the Lamar men's golf team is set to compete at the NCAA Central Regional hosted by Notre Dame Thursday through Saturday at Warren Golf Course.
Lamar, who is seeded No. 21, received an at-large bid for the second straight year. This will be the Cardinals' fifth straight NCAA Central Regional appearance and sixth in the school's history. Lamar's best showing at the Central Regional was 13th in 2003. Lamar has also appeared in three NCAA Championships, finishing a school-best seventh in 1986.
Texas-Arlington won the Southland Conference championship and received the league's automatic bid. The Mavericks are the No. 17 seed at the NCAA West Regional hosted by Stanford University at Stanford Golf Club in Stanford, Calif.
There are 27 teams and six individuals at the Central Regional, which will consist of 18 holes of play each day. The top 10 teams and two individuals not on one of those teams will advance to the NCAA Championships, June 1-4 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills, Md.
Chris Stroud, who is playing professionally on the Hooters Tour, was Lamar's top finisher at last year's NCAA Central Regional hosted by Purdue University at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, tying for 25th place with a 54-hole score of 8-over par 224. Shawn Stefani tied for 39th at 229, and Andre Metzger and Dusty Smith tied for 119th at 244.
Van Der Walt, who also earned first team all-SLC honors, has been Lamar's top player this season. A native of Cape Town, South Africa, he leads the team and ranks third in the SLC with a 72.92 spring scoring average. Van Der Walt won medalist honors twice this season and placed sixth at the SLC championships. He has a season scoring average of 71.70 and has shot par or better in 18 of 27 rounds this season.
Stefani and Metzger were both named to the all-SLC second team. Stefani, a senior from Baytown, has a 73.61 spring scoring average and tied for 16th at the SLC championships. He has three top 10 finishes this season and has a 73.63 scoring average in 32 rounds.
Metzger, a senior from Norma, Okla., has a 73.83 spring scoring average and placed 15th at the SLC championships. His best tournament was a tied for eighth at the LSU Spring Invitational, which included a season-low round of 4-under par 68. He has a 73.30 season scoring average in 33 rounds.
Smith, a sophomore from The Woodlands, has the team's second-best spring scoring average at 73.40. A third team all-SLC selection, he tied for 10th at the SLC championships. He has three top 10 finishes this season, including a tie for fourth at the Border Olympics. He shot a season-low round of 6-under par 66 in finishing tied for fifth at the Baylor Invitational. He has a 73.66 season scoring average in 33 rounds.
Rounding out the Cardinals' lineup is sophomore Ryan Kornmann, who posted a 75.06 spring scoring average. A native of Kingwood, Kornmann tied for 40th place at the SLC championships. He tied for sixth at the Del Walker Intercollegiate, which included a season-low round of 3-under par 68. He has a 73.93 season scoring average in 30 rounds.
