Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Surges Into Next Week's NCAA Championships
5/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 26, 2011
Northwestern's NCAA National Championships Notes (PDF Format) 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will join 29 other schools from around the nation May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., to battle for the 2011 National Championship.
The tournament begins with 54 holes of stroke play at the 7,416-yard, par-72 Karsten Creek tract. Teams will play 18 holes each day from Tuesday, May 31, through Thursday, June 2. At that time, the NCAA's individual champion will be crowned and the top eight teams in the standings will advance to match play, competing in one match per day until a champion is determined on Sunday, June 5.
Northwestern is making its seventh appearance at the NCAA National Championships under 15th-year head coach Pat Goss. NU earned four-straight top-20 national finishes from 1997-2000, including a trio of top-10 efforts. NU was seventh in 1997 (when Goss was named National Coach of the Year), 19th in 1998, third in 1999 (when current OWGR No. 2 Luke Donald claimed the individual national championship) and eighth in 2000. Since 2000, NU has played in the national finals in 2006 and 2009.
Northwestern has been seeded No. 28 among the 30-team field, but that number is a bit misleading. At its Colorado Regional site, NU defeated No. 12 seed Georgia and No. 22 seed Arizona State by two strokes each. At some point during this season, the Wildcats have beaten 15 of the 29 other schools in the 2011 NCAA National Championships field.
In its most recent NCAA national championships appearance in 2009, Northwestern advanced from a Regional at Karsten Creek -- the site of this season's national finals. Seniors David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) and Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) along with junior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) all were members of that 2009 lineup, giving NU much familiarity with this week's course.
Northwestern has had a knack for closing in recent weeks, turning in two of its most impressive team efforts in recent memory in the final rounds of its last two tournaments. At the Big Ten Championships, NU put together a 7-under 281 to jump all the way to second place as a team. At the NCAA Colorado Regional, the Wildcats shattered that mark with a 12-under 276 to vault all the way from a tie for eighth into third place. In both of those rounds, all five Wildcats in the lineup carded scores at or below par.
THE COURSE
Opened on May 9, 1994, Karsten Creek Golf Club was named the "Best New Course" in the country by Golf Digest. The Tom Fazio design was cut from a forest of oaks and black jacks, complemented by an undulating terrain and zoysia fairways. The back nine is built around the 110-acre Lake Louise, which is featured on the finishing holes.
This season, Karsten Creek will play to a 7,416-yard, par-72 setup. This is nearly identical to the 7,407-yard total from 2009 when NU advanced out of the NCAA Regional held there. During that Regional, healthy rains and wet conditions contributed to sky-high scores on the already difficult course; host school Oklahoma State won the Regional with a 17-over team total while NU moved on with a 50-over team score.
THE MATCH PLAY ELEMENT
With five Big Ten teams in the field at the 2011 NCAA Championships, the conference's spring-season-starting Match Play Championship takes on an even bigger significance in NCAA preparations. The top-eight teams after 54 holes of stroke play at Karsten Creek will move on to match play to determine the 2011 National Champion.
Match play particularly favors the Wildcats, who have won the last two Big Ten Match Play titles. NU earned its most recent crown at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with a perfect 3-0 run through the tourney.
Northwestern now is 10-1 all-time in the three-year history of the Big Ten Match Play tournament. The Wildcats fell in the quarterfinal round in 2009 before winning their final two battles to take fifth. In 2010, then-No. 6 seed Northwestern went a perfect 4-0, taking out both the second- and third-seeded teams en route to the title.
This year, Northwestern opened with a 5-1 win over No. 5 seed Michigan to advance to a semifinal match against No. 1 seed Illinois. Chun -- who is an undefeated 10-0-1 all-time at the Big Ten Match Play Championship -- provided a huge 5 and 3 victory to help NU advance in a tiebreak after the team match ended up knotted, 3-3.
In the title tilt, Northwestern successfully negotiated the PGA National Champion Course's famed "Bear Trap" to pull away from Indiana for a 4-2 victory. NU has won each of its last nine matches in the tournament.
THE CLOSING NOTE (OR, THE NOTE ON CLOSING)
Northwestern opened its 2011 spring season with its second-straight win in the Big Ten Match Play Championship, but then struggled through its first handful of stroke play events. The Wildcats got back on track with a third-place finish in the 14-team Illini Spring Classic, jumping up in the standings after a final round 4-over 292.
Northwestern made a similar charge at the 72-hole Big Ten Championships. After opening the tournament in seventh place, NU moved up in the standings each day until a blistering 7-under 281 pushed the Wildcats into a second-place team finish. That round -- the best NU had played in recent memory until the NCAA Regional -- featured all five Wildcats in the lineup at even or below par. Led by Lipsky's 5-under 67, NU also got red scores from Chun (1-under 71) and freshman Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) (71) while sophomore Nick Losole (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Notre Dame) and Dupont each carded even-par totals of 72.
The Wildcats saved their best charge for last, shooting an impressive 12-under 276 on the final day of the NCAA Colorado Regional to jump from an eighth-place tie all the way to third and qualify for the NCAA National Championships. Once again all five Wildcats were at or below par, led by Dupont's career-best 5-under 67 (made all the more impressive when compared to Dupont's 79 and 75 totals prior to the final round). Lipsky followed with a 4-under 68, Perry had a career-best 2-under 70, Losole had a 1-under 71 and Chun was even-par with a 72.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
