Kris Shane Earns Invitation to 2011 NCAA Golf Championships

INDIANAPOLIS - University of Tampa men's golfer Kris Shane became the first Spartan since Brian Ward in 2005 to earn an invitation to the NCAA Men's Golf Regional. Shane will compete as one of the eight individual selections at the 2011 South/Southeast Regional on May 2-4.

The regional will be played at the Victoria Hills Golf Club in DeLand, Fla., which will be hosted by the Sunshine State Conference and the Central Florida Sports Commission.

Shane, a senior from Ruskin, Fla., played 30 rounds in the 2010-11 season, compiling an average of 75.7. Among his performances were a top-five finish, two top-10 and three top-15 showings.

His top round was a 69 at the Rollins Invitational as he also finished fifth at the Spartan Invitational. Shane also competed against top regional teams at the North Alabama Invitational, finishing ninth in the field.

The regional is heavily dominated by SSC institutions, with Lynn, Barry, Nova Southeastern, Florida Southern, Rollins and Florida Tech each earning team invites. Eckerd's Callum Georgallides will join Shane as an individual selection.

The top five teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the finals on May 16-20, at The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at The Shoals in Florence, Ala. The finals will be hosted by the University of North Alabama.

There will be four regional sites in which two regions will meet and conduct regional tournaments.