PANTHERS HEADING TO DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP
May 7, 2007

The LaGrange College golf team earned its second invitation to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship as the field for the 2007 tournament was announced Monday. The 72-hole championship will be held May 15-18, at Hawthorns Golf and Country Club and Prairie View Golf Club, in Fishers and Carmel, Ind.

"The guys really deserved this, they've played and practiced in some adverse conditions this spring," head coach Lee Richter said. "The guys have worked hard and if any group of guys deserve this it's this bunch.

"We're ranked No. 10 in the country and this is the third year we've been ranked in the top 10. We're taking four sophomores and a freshman, so we'll probably have the youngest team there."

The Panthers will carry  Freddy Uribe, Alex Eloriagga, Anthony Yacovazzi, Ryan Willis and Bo Tiller to the championship. Uribe was named to three all-tournament teams this season. Eloriagga had a second place finish at the Piedmont Invitational and Willis earned all-tournament honors at the Jekyll Island Invitational. Willis also made the all-state team for the collegiate Georgia Cup.

As a team, the Panthers had a successful spring. They had four top 10 finishes in five tournaments. The Panthers had a second place finish at the Piedmont Invitational and a fourth place finish at the Jekyll Island Invitational.

The championship consists of 35 teams and five individuals for a total of 180 participants. Twenty-four conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the championships. Eight teams, including LaGrange, were selected from Pool B, which consists of independent institutions, and institutions that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. The final three berths were reserved for Pool C, which are institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B teams. The top five individuals are selected from the remaining players who have not qualified with a team.

Nebraska Wesleyan returns to the championship to defend its 2006 title. Also, nine-time champion Methodist, two-time champion Guilford and 2001 champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire are in the field. Twenty of the 25 ranked teams in the Golf Coaches of America Association Division III poll are in the championship.

The Panthers made school history in 2004. They became the first LaGrange College team to earn an invitation to an NCAA championship event. In 2005, Michael Lemmo finished third competing as an individual. He earned All-American honors for his play.