Saturday, April 28, 2012

Western Washington and Saint Martin's will compete in the NCAA Division II Central/West Regional which begins Monday, May 7 at the Wigwam Golf and Country Club in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

The Vikings, who will be making their 14th straight NCAA Division II post-season appearance, are the No. 3 seed from the West, while the Saints are the 10th seed.

WWU is led by Nick Varelia, who has a 72.9 scoring average. He was named GNAC Player of the Year on Wednesday after placing third at the conference tournament.

WWU has advanced to the national meet during six of their previous 13 regionals, including 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008.

The 54-hole tournament is one of four regionals taking place across the country. The Central/West Regional host is Grand Canyon University.

Each regional is composed of 20 schools and eight additional individuals from non-qualifying schools.

The top five schools and top two individuals from non-qualifying schools advance to the NCAA II National Championships on May 15-19 at The Cardinal Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

WWU placed sixth at regionals last year, dropping three places on the final day to narrowly miss out on a trip to nationals.

The Vikings are coming off their fifth straight GNAC championship earlier this week. In nine regular-season tournaments, they've placed among the top three seven times, winning one and being runner-up in four others.