April 19, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - An excellent spring season and strong showings in head-to-head competition against other conference teams have paid off for Villanova, as the team learned yesterday that it had earned the No. 6 seed in this weekend's Big East Championship. The Wildcats were in the top half of the 12 conference teams that will be at the tournament.

Led by the consistent play of junior Steve Arnold (Langhorne, Pa.), Villanova has an overall record of 65-19 (.774) in five tournaments this spring, including a 9-1 mark in head-to-head competition against other Big East teams. Arnold has placed all seven of his rounds this spring in a range between 70 and 76, and for the entire season he leads the team with a 72.91 stroke average in 23 rounds. He has finished in the top 20 of the field in eight consecutive tournaments, including medalist honors at the Big Five Invitational in the fall.

The Wildcats began the heavily-weighted spring season with third-place finishes at both the William & Mary Invitational and the George Washington Invite. Villanova has also competed at the Princeton Invitational and Navy Spring Invitational. Senior captain Jonathan Hewett (Sioux Falls, S.D.) is second on the team with a 74.29 stroke average in the spring and owns a 75.35 mark for the season.

Notre Dame drew the second seed in the tournament, while the other three spots in the top four went to league newcomers. Louisville claimed the top spot, while Marquette was the No. 3 seed and University of South Florida was seeded fourth. St. John's was the fifth seed ahead of the Wildcats, who were followed by Georgetown, DePaul, Rutgers, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Seton Hall.

As a team, Villanova has a 295.04 stroke average in 24 rounds on the season and a head-to-head record of 101-49-1 (.672) against its competition. The Wildcats are 16-10 (.615) against Big East teams and have a better stroke average in head-to-head competition against DePaul, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Connecticut and Seton Hall. In the spring, Villanova has also beaten Rutgers and St. John's head-to-head.

The Big East Championships will be contested this weekend at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club in Dade City, Fla. The tournament will consist of 36 holes played on Saturday and the final 18 holes held on Sunday.

NOTES: The conference tournament this season has shifted to a format in which all 12 teams participate in the Big East Championship ... Last season, six teams were selected and the Wildcats earned a bid for the first time since prior to the 2000 season, when the tournament included nine teams ... Villanova placed sixth at the snow-shortened championship last season.