Guilford Joins 41 Teams, H-SC's O'Connell Earns Individual Spot

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The NCAA released the field of teams and individual players for the 2012 NCAA Division III Golf Tournament on Tuesday.  Guilford College, winners of the ODAC's automatic bid, will be the lone league team competing among the 41-team field.  Five individuals were also selected to even out the 210-man tournament set, including Hampden-Sydney College's Rick O'Connell.

The championships will be held May 15-18, at the Mission Inn Resort, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. The championships will be hosted by Oglethorpe University and the Central Florida Sports Commission.

Guilford enters the foray ranked ninth in the country according to the team rankings by www.golfstat.com.  The Quakers have won six events in 2012, including the program's 12th overall and second straight ODAC championship.  GC boasts a potent line-up, with its squad posting an adjusted scoring aveage of 74.93 strokes per scoring player.  It is tops in the ODAC in overall team average at 297.8 strokes per round.

Junior Noah Ratner leads the charge as not only Guilford's #1 golfer, but also the leader in ODAC scoring average at 72.5 strokes per round.  Golfstat has him ranked #1 in the country heading into next week's championships.  Ratner has won a Guilford record-tying four events during the 2011-12 regular season, capturing titles at the Gordin D-III Preview --- which was played at the national championship course --- Golfweek Invitational, O'Briant-Jensen Memorial and TaylorMade adidas Invitational.

Hampden-Sydney's O'Connell put together a banner campaign in just his second season at H-SC.  He ranks second in the ODAC with a 73.3 scoring average, and is currently slotted 26th in the country by Golfstat.  His team-best five top-10 finishes includes an individual win at the Tom Kinder Memorial in the fall.

Listed below are the teams and individuals that qualified for the 2012 NCAA Division III Golf Championships.  For more information, visit the NCAA on the web at www.ncaa.com.  For more on ODAC Golf, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.