NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt’s run in the NCAA Tournament starts Monday when the Commodores are scheduled tee off at the Auburn Regional.
Vandy, ranked No. 1 nationally by Golfstat and Golfweek and in the GCAA Coaches’ Poll, will be one of 13 teams competing in the three-day, 54-hole tournament used to decide who moves on to the NCAA Championships at the end of May in Scottsdale, Arizona. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance.
One of 81 teams to make the national postseason, Vanderbilt will be looking for a third straight regional title having won the 2021 Kingston Springs Regional and the 2022 Palm Beach Gardens Regional.
“I think we have had a good week and a half of preparation and I know the guys are excited to play,” Vandy head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “From what I know about the course, it will reward tough and disciplined teams and players. This is the first step and it requires our full focus. Our job is to be mentally locked in from the start and physically we have to own doing the simple things at a championship level.”
Vanderbilt is the No. 1 seed at the regional and No. 1 overall seed in the nation. This week it will be going up against Tennessee, Auburn, Colorado State, Ohio State, Washington, Texas Christian, Chattanooga, Houston, Marquette, Indiana, Augusta and Siena as well as Alex Goff (Kentucky), Brantley Scott (Troy), Erik Jansson (Jacksonville State), Tobias Jonsson (Mercer), Cameron Clarke (Southern Mississippi), Brian Ma (Harvard), Jackson Skeen (Tennessee Tech), Luka Naglic (Arkansas State), Hugo Thyr (South Alabama) and Killian McGinley (Fairfield) who will all be competing as individuals.
The Commodores are coming off a third straight finals appearance at the SEC Championships on April 23. They finished fourth in the stroke play portion of the event before falling to Florida on the final hole in the championship match.
Vandy’s 2022-23 season has been a historic one as the Commodores have won more regular-season team titles than any squad before in program history. Vanderbilt won the Mason Rudolph Championship, Cabo Collegiate, Watersound Invitational, John Hayt Invitational, East Lake Cup and Frederica Cup.
Gordon Sargent, William Moll, Cole Sherwood, Reid Davenport and Matthew Riedel will be competing for Vanderbilt this week while Jackson Van Paris will be on hand as a possible substitute. The Commodores will be playing on the par 72, 7,560-yard Auburn University Club course looking to secure their spot at the Grayhawk Golf Club starting May 26.
Vandy is scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m. Monday alongside Auburn and Tennessee. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
“We will decide the truth about this team and we need to go play the game we love and allow our talent to take over,” Limbaugh said. “We hope to have some of our fans there to support our guys.”
