Yellow Jacket Roundup: Is Championship Bound

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - There wasn’t much going on this weekend on the Flats, but the one team in action last weekend got the job done in order to keep on dancing.

No. 8 Men’s Golf

In order to advance to the NCAA Championship, teams must finish in the top five places in their respective region. After three years of failing to get out of the first weekend of postseason play, Georgia Tech qualified for their 28th appearance in the NCAA Golf National Championship. Tech spent the first two days of the NCAA Regional parked in a nice third place spot, with a little wiggle room as they entered the last day. Over the first two days, Tech didn’t play particularly poorly or excellently - they were doing what they needed to do. After the otherworldly performance at the ACC Championships two weeks ago, it was a little unreasonable to expect the same elite performance two outings in a row. That said, the final day came down a little too close to the wire for comfort, echoing previous years shortcomings at the regional level. However, though Tyler Strafaci played consistently above par in his three rounds, the other four - Luke Schneiderjans, Andy Ogletree, Connor Howe, and Noah Norton all finished in the top 30, and once again, Tech’s sterling depth won the day - or at least did enough to get them to the next round of competition. All of this team has played great golf recently, despite no one truly taking the mantle and shining in Pullman. They, as they almost always do, remain a credible threat to win the national championship on any given day. Tech is one of the best teams in the country at picking up birdies on high-par holes, and though they didn’t necessarily do as well as they have been at that this past week, they were able to cash in and catch fire for spells enough to make it to the next weekend, edging South Carolina and Colorado State, who finished tied for fifth and forced a one-hole playoff. Though, while we’re at it, no one lost quite as painfully as Ole Miss, who literally can blame a passing bird errantly flying into a shot. A truly Randy Johnson-esque performance, though ultimately one with much higher stakes than Spring Training baseball. Until next weekend, the Jackets live to play another round.

This week: The Swingin’ Jackets head out to Arkansas to make their latest run for the NCAA Championship.

For baseball coverage:

click here

This Week on the Flats:

BOLD for home, REGULAR for away, ITALIC for time and location

Monday:
Men’s Tennis is at the NCAA Singles Championship
Orlando, FL, All day

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday:
Baseball vs. Notre Dame (ACC Championship - Group Play)
3:00 PM, Durham, NC, RSNs and WREK 91.1

Thursday:
Track and Field is at the NCAA East Preliminaries
All day, Jacksonville, FL

Friday:
Baseball vs. Duke (ACC Championship - Group Play)
11:00 AM, Durham, NC, RSNs and WREK 91.1

Track and Field is at the NCAA East Preliminaries
All day, Jacksonville, FL

Men’s Golf is at the NCAA Championships
All day, Fayetteville, AR

Saturday:
Baseball vs. TBD (ACC Championship - Semifinals)
TBD, Durham, NC, RSNs and WREK 91.1

Track and Field is at the NCAA East Preliminaries
All day, Jacksonville, FL

Men’s Golf is at the NCAA Championships
All day, Fayetteville, AR

Sunday:
Baseball vs. TBD (ACC Championship)
TBD, Durham, NC, RSNs and WREK 91.1

Men’s Golf is at the NCAA Championships
All day, Fayetteville, AR