Ten of the nation’s top 100 NCAA Division I collegiate teams and four past national champions are set to compete in the Florida Atlantic University men’s golf program’s second annual Spring Break Championship Tournament Friday through Sunday, March 26-28, at Gleneagles Country Club, 7667 Victory Lane, in Delray Beach.

Sixteen teams from 10 different states will be competing in the three-day event.  Defending champion University of Illinois leads the list of competitors, with the Illini being ranked 12th in the latest Golf Week collegiate rankings.  Other ranked teams include the University of Iowa, 41st; University of Michigan, 45th; Eastern Michigan University, 72nd; University of Notre Dame, 79th; Penn State, 82nd; Ohio State University, 85th; University of Minnesota, 87th; St. Mary’s College ( Calif. ), 97th; and FAU, 100th.

“In just two years, our Spring Break Championship Tournament has quickly developed into one of the premiere collegiate tournaments,” said Angelo Sands, head men’s golf coach at FAU.  “The tournament has attracted a high quality of teams, with six of the seven Big Ten teams competing here last year making it to the NCAA championships.”

First-time tournament competitors are Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of South Florida .  Rounding out the tournament field will be Murray State University , Marquette University , Northern Illinois University and University of Wisconsin .

FAU is coming off shooting its season-low score in a dual-match victory over Rutgers University on March 19.  The Owls are led by senior Ben Silverman, who was named the Sun Belt Conference “Male Golfer of the Month” for October, and sophomore Carl McCauley, who is coming off a career-best 68 score against Rutgers .  Other team members are junior Kelly McHugh and sophomore Justin Thompson.

A pre-tournament event begins on Thursday, March 25, with more than 80 golfers participating in a pro-am tournament and practice rounds.  Three 18 rounds of competition is scheduled to commence post-tournament on Friday, March 26 on the pristine Legends Course.  The public is invited to watch the tournament and support their favorite collegiate teams.

Gleneagles Country Club, established in 1984, served as the host last year when Illinois won by 14 strokes over Big Ten-rival Michigan .  The tournament site is a pristine, private golf and country club resort community offering members an exclusive choice for legendary resort living.  The resort includes two, 18-hole championship Karl Litten-designed golf courses, a spectacular tennis complex featuring 21 Har-Tru night-lit courts and a state-of-the-art fitness center with an Olympic-size swimming pool.  Gleneagles main club house offers two full-service restaurants and lounges. Celebrated golfers who have played Gleneagles courses include Sam Snead, Billy Casper, Doug Sanders, Gay Brewer, Bob Goalby, Doug Ford, Steffi Graff and Ivan Lendl.

“We’re planning for another exciting FAU Spring Break tournament this year at Gleneagles,” said Kraig Spina, Gleneagles’ general manager.

Sands commended Gleneagles’ administration and membership for embracing the tournament, with 250 members turning out to volunteer support for this tournament and its exceptional golfers.

“Most other collegiate tournaments may have 10 volunteers, we’ll have 250,” Sands said.  “Also, whatever needs to be done, I can count on the FAU administrative team to getting it done. There are hundreds of hours of preparation and planning for this tournament.  The day after this tournament is over, we’ll begin planning for next year.”

Live tournament scoring will be provided on Golfstat.com and results posted daily on www.fausports.com.

Source: FAU Media Relations