April 1, 2011

LUBBOCK, Texas - The month of April will be important for the No. 19 Texas Tech men's golf team, and the Red Raiders will tee things off on Monday in the state capitol at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, being played at the University of Texas Golf Club, April 4-5.

For the Red Raiders, a strong showing in the month of April will only increase their standing when NCAA selections are announced in May. Following the tournament in Austin, Tech will head to College Station for the Aggie Invitational (April 16-17) and then to Hutchinson, Kan., for the 2011 Big 12 Championships (April 25-27).

"At this point in the year, every tournament becomes important," said Texas Tech head coach Greg Sands. "Just like everyone else, we are trying to secure a spot in the regionals (NCAA) and we want to put ourselves in the best position that we can. This weekend will be another test and I think we will have a good approach."

Texas Tech is coming off a fourth place finish at the 2011 Callaway Match Play Championships two weeks ago in Ball Ground, Ga. At that event, the Red Raiders posted upsets of No. 13 Georgia and No. 2 UCLA before falling to Illinois and USC.

The Red Raiders hope to get more of the hot swing from senior Matt Smith as he enters the tournament as the No. 25 player in the country, according to this week's Golfweek Magazine rankings. Smith posted an upset of the nation's consensus No. 1 player in Patrick Cantlay of UCLA, 1-up, two weeks ago at the Callaway Match Play. Smith has logged three top 10 finishes this season and one in the top five.

Senior Nils Floren is the top ranked player on the team as he stands at No. 17 in this week's national rankings. Floren also has three top 10 finishes under his belt along with an individual title from the UTSA/Oak Hills Invitational.

Live coverage of the tournament can be found online at www.golfstat.com.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: Monday and Tuesday, April 4-5, 2011
Format: Stroke play, 54 holes; 36 holes on Monday, 18 on Tuesday
Tee Times: TBA
Site: The University of Texas Golf Club (par 71, 7,412 yards) - Austin, Texas; this marks the fourth time the tournament has been played at this site. The tournament was held at Austin Country Club through the previous nine seasons.
Host school: The University of Texas
Course par and yardage: Par 71; 7,412 Yards
2010 team champion: Georgia, 878 (+26)
2010 individual medalist: Harris English (Georgia) [212, (-1)]
2011 Morris Williams Intercollegiate field: Texas, Arkansas, Denver, Kent State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Pepperdine, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio (UTSA), Texas Tech and Tulsa.