NORTHEAST GOLF RANKED 2nd IN NATION

May 31 , 2007

 BOONEVILLE, Miss.-- Just three days before they are scheduled to board a plane bound for the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Division-III National Tournament in Chautauqua, New York, the Northeast Tigers golf team learned that it is ranked 2nd in the nation according to the latest D-III poll.

“It’s really exciting,” said Region XXIII Coach Of The Year, NEMCC golf coach Craig Lauderdale. “For our team to receive a ranking like this is a big reward after all the hard work we’ve put in this year. Here at Northeast you always look back at the basketball teams, and some of the football teams that were nationally ranked. For the golf team to put ourselves on the map with them is going to help us in recruiting and it’s a big deal for our college.”  

Ranked first in the nation in D-III is Nassau Community College from Garden City, N.Y. with a team scoring average of 306, followed by NEMCC with a scoring average of 314. Ranked just behind Northeast at number three is defending NJCAA D-III national champion Monroe Community College from Rochester, N.Y.

“This is definitely a confidence boost,” Lauderdale explained, “heading into the national tournament next week. It lets us know that we deserve to be there, and that we should expect to go and compete for a national title. Now we have to put that confidence to good use by practicing well, and then executing our game all four days of the event.”

The NJCAA D-III National Tournament will begin on June 5 at Jamestown Country Club in Chautauqua, N.Y. Four, 18-hole rounds (72 holes) will be played with the lowest team score earning the 2007 National Title. Lauderdale’s Tigers will play practice rounds at JCC on Sunday, June 3, and Monday, June 4 prior to Tuesday’s opening round.

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