What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State has advanced to NCAA Regional play for the third-straight season and 13th time since 1999.
* The Panthers will cross the Mississippi River for regional play for the third-straight season following two years playing in Texas. It will mark the first postseason appearance for GSU playing in Arizona.
* Georgia State will be looking to finish among the top five teams to qualify for its sixth NCAA Championship appearance since 2000.
ATLANTA – After securing an at-large berth for the second-straight season, Georgia State will make its third-straight NCAA Regional appearance and 13th since 1999 when the Panthers open play at the NCAA Tucson Regional at Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz., on Monday.
The Panthers will enter play as the No. 10 seed and one of 14 teams that qualified for the regional. A total of six regionals will take place Monday-Wednesday with the top five teams advancing from each to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., later this month.
Two years ago as a No. 8 seed, Georgia State finished second in San Antonio to reach finals, whereas earning a No. 11 seed last year was not as kind to the Panthers which finished 12th in Lubbock, Texas.
“Honestly, at this point in the year, seeding does not mean much,” head coach Joe Inman said. “Other than slotting you into practice round and first round tee time, you can throw your seed out after that. Our guys know that we have competed well with the teams in our regional this year and we feel as though we have as good a chance as anyone to advance.
“Our goal was to be playing our best golf at the end of the year and I think we can say we accomplished that. Now is our chance to get back to the NCAA Championship and see what can happen.”
The regional includes five teams ranked in the top 30 by both GolfStat and Golfweek. Georgia State has gone 4-4 head-to-head with teams this season, including wins over the No. 5, 6 and 7 seeded teams. The Panthers enter the postseason ranked No. 61 by GolfStat and have combined for a 106-35 record.
The 14 teams that will make-up the regional include (in order of seed): Stanford, Wake Forest, Cal, Oregon, North Carolina, North Florida, UAB, Georgia Tech, St Mary's (CA), Georgia State, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, UC Riverside and Siena.
Georgia State's line-up will include senior JJ Grey, junior Nathan Mallonee, sophomores Alexander Herrmann and Max Herrmann, along with freshman Nick Budd. All four returners have played in at least one NCAA Regional.
Grey was named the Sun Belt Golfer of the Year a week ago and will be making his fourth-straight appearance in NCAA Regional play. He became the first Panther to earn All-Sun Belt First Team honors four-straight years and leads the team with a 71.53 scoring average, the second-lowest single-season mark in school history.
The Herrmann twins also earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors. Max earned Sun Belt Conference low medalist honors last month, defeating teammate JJ Grey and Troy's Calum Masters in a one-hole playoff for this first win and second top 10 of the year. Alex earned four top 10 finishes this year, including an eighth-place finish at the conference championship that included a career-low 64 in the second round.
Mallonee finished the year with seven top 25 finishes and will be making his third-straight NCAA Regional appearance. Budd rounds out the line-up and has shot 73 or better in eight of his last 12 rounds.
Live scoring of the entire 54-hole tournament will be available at Golfstat.com and on the Golfstat mobile app.
Georgia State's practice round is scheduled for Sunday off the No. 10 tee at 10:36 a.m. ET. The Panthers will open tournament play on Monday paired with North Texas and Louisiana Tech. The first group in the pairing will go off at 11:15 a.m. ET.
If Georgia State finishes among the top five teams, the Panthers will advance to the NCAA Championship May 27-June 1, in Eugene, Ore., at Eugene Country Club.
