Chattanooga Mocs junior Wes Gosselin is headed to Ol’ Colony Golf Complex for the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regionals. Gosselin is the first UTC men’s golfer since Neil Connolly in 1993 to earn an at large berth in the event, while the team has eight appearances, all since 2007.
The three-day, 54-hole event starts on Monday, May 16, and concludes with a final 18 on Wednesday.
“I wish all the guys could go,” Gosselin shared. “But we made a lot of progress as a team this year. I’m excited to go and represent us this year.”
This is not his first experience with NCAA Regionals.
He was a member of the five-man group that played in the Eugene Regionals in 2014 where Chris Robb advanced to the NCAA Championships claiming the lone individual berth. True to his way, Gosselin downplayed expectations over process.
“I try not to get caught up in results or the expectations in that regard,” he continued. “I know I had a pretty good semester, but I don’t think I’ve played nearly to my capabilities.
“I’m just going to stay focused on doing what I can do and trust the results will be good enough if I can stay focused on that.”
Gosselin is a 2016 All-Southern Conference performer. His 72.29 stroke average is fifth-best in school history with five top 10s with two top 5s in 2015-16.
“Wes took a really strong step forward this year,” coach Mark Guhne stated. “It’s amazing looking back to having to sit out his freshman year with an injury. It’s hard to take a year away from golf, but Wes has made great strides over the last three years.
“He deserves to be on this stage and is ready for the challenge.”
His 2015-16 campaign ranks near the top of several key records. Along with the scoring number, his 21 par or better cards is one off the school record set by All-American Stephan Jaeger in 2012. Gosselin is 13 birdies (119) shy of Derek Rende’s mark of 132 (2007-08), while his 4.07 scoring average on par 4s is just behind Jonathan Hodge (4.04, 2007-08) and Jaeger (4.06, 2011-12).
Gosselin not only has experience at NCAA Regionals, but he has played Ol’ Colony before although his recollection is a little fuzzy.
“I believe I played a junior event there when I was 11 or 12,” he added. “I do not remember a thing. I’ll go online later today, look it up and get a quick synopsis of it, but I’ve heard great things of it without knowing specifics.”
The top 5 teams and one individual on a non-advancing squad move on to Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., May 27-June 1. The team claimed finals appearances in 2009 and 2012, while Connolly and Robb earned individual spots in 1993 and 2014.