SWAC champion Arkansas-Pine Bluff men's golf selected to NCAA Regionals for first time

PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff is getting a good reason to celebrate the university's 150th anniversary.

Two weeks after the men and women UAPB golf teams swept the SWAC championships — the first conference title in school history — the Golden Lion men are selected to the NCAA Regionals on Wednesday in front of a nationally televised audience.

"I'm so proud of the kids, I'm so proud of the university," 4-time running SWAC coach of the year Roger Totten said at the team's watch party. "We earned it because we did it the right way. We worked in practice and preparation, going to class, everything we got we earned it. There were no givens."

On the heels of securing an at-large bid by dominating the SWAC tournament, winning the championship event by 29 strokes, UAPB is placed to the Norman Regional in Oklahoma. The Golden Lions are one of 81 teams in the country to qualify for the postseason, pegged as the final seed of 16 in Norman.

"To be able to make history here at UAPB, it's awesome," first team All-SWAC freshman Ismael Garcia said. "The first day we got here coach told us what his goal is. He wanted to be SWAC champions. We worked hard all year and finally the work paid off."

"It was our goal in August to win the championship, to bring a championship back to Pine Bluff," first team All-SWAC junior Li Su said. ...