The Gannon men’s golf team will begin its first NCAA postseason event as a team since 1989 Monday, May 6 at the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional hosted by West Liberty University at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia. The three-round regional runs through Wednesday, May 8.

Gannon was one of seven Atlantic Region teams to receive at-large bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Other at-large bids were granted to Davis & Elkins, Bluefield State, California (Pa.), West Chester, Charleston (W.Va.) and Millersville. Automatic berths were captured by Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champion Indiana (Pa.), West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Concord and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) champion Virginia State. The Atlantic Region programs will join 10 East Region teams at the event.

The top three teams plus the top two individuals not on an advancing team from each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the 2013 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf National Championship May 20-24 at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The finals will be hosted by Millersville University.

The 2013 NCAA Tournament will have Gannon representation for the first time since Drew Deimel qualified for the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional as an individual in 2010 and 2011. He later advanced to the national championship both seasons. In 2010, Deimel finished sixth at the regional and 18th at the national championship. In 2011, he placed fourth regionally and 11th nationally.

Gannon has recorded top-five finishes during seven of 11 events this season, including four of the five spring invitationals. The Golden Knights’ best finish came after placing second out of nine teams during their spring invitational. Other spring results include a third-place finish at the West Chester Invitational, a fourth-place finish at the Mercyhurst Invitational and a fifth-place finish at the Malone Invitational. A third-place finish out of 20 regional teams at the Atlantic Regional Preview in Lafayette, Ohio September 17-18 also proved to be an important result for the Golden Knights.

Cameron Zbrzeznj (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) produced Gannon’s best average this season, recording 76 strokes per round. The freshman placed among the top 20 during 10 of 11 events this season, including three top-five finishes.

Seven Golden Knights had scoring averages under 80. The group included Jason Ramus (76.9), Jon Marcson (78.1), Sean Mahon (78.2), Max Fairman (79.0), Jesper Jensen (79.5) and Shyamal Nagindas (79.8).

For more about all of Gannon’s sports teams, check out http://www.gannonsports.com.