Clemson Heads for 18th Straight NCAA Tournament

May 11, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson, ranked number-one in the nation by the latest Sagarin Computer ranking and third by Mastercard, was one of 23 teams chosen Tuesday to compete in the NCAA East Regional. The event will take place at Rhode Island Country Club in Providence, RI on May 20-22.

The top 11 teams from the 23-team East Regional will advance to the NCAA finals at Hazeltine Country Club in Edina, MN. The national championships will be held June 2-5. Clemson has qualified for the NCAA championships each of the last 17 years, the second longest streak in the nation. Only Oklahoma State’s streak of 52 consecutive years is longer.

Head Coach Larry Penley, who is taking his 16th straight team to the NCAA Tournament, the longest streak of its kind in Clemson sports history, has announced his five players for the regional. The Tigers will be led by All-ACC players John Engler, Lucas Glover and Jonathan Byrd, who were members of Clemson’s NCAA runnerup team last year.

Michael Hoey, a freshman from Ireland who was recently chosen to compete in the Palmer Cup matches for the Great Britain/Ireland team, will be competing for Clemson in his first NCAA Tournament. Hoey has seven top 20 finishes this year. The fifth starter in Clemson’s lineup will be sophomore Jani Saari of Greenville, SC and J. L. Mann High School.

Clemson was one of six teams selected from the ACC. In addition to the Tigers, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland and Duke will compete in Providence May 20-22. Five teams were chosen from the SEC: Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Mississippi State. Mississippi State is coached by former Clemson All-American Nicky Goetze.