March 17, 2011

BALL GROUND, Ga. - The Baylor men's golf team continues its spring season March 20-22 with the 2011 Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship at Hawks Ridge Golf Club. Baylor, which is ranked No. 56 in the latest Golfstat standings, will participate in a team match-play event for the first time in program history.

Host school Georgia Tech leads a 16-team field that includes Alabama, Duke, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Pacific, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC and Washington State. Georgia (2005) and UCLA (2007) are past winners of the event, while 201 Callaway Collegiate Match Play runner-up USC leads a five-team contingent (Iowa, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA) returning from last year's tournament. Baylor, East Tennessee State, Illinois, Pacific and Washington State will be making their first appearances in the match play event.

Baylor, the No. 13 seed in this year's match play event, will face No. 4 Illinois in the first round Sunday. Every team is guaranteed to play four matches. Live results will be available at Golfstat.com.

"Having never played in a match-play event, this will be a new experience for everyone," head coach Greg Priest said. "It's a different type of competition so we are excited to be a part of it.

"Obviously, with it not being stroke play, the strategy is totally different and it will allow us to be more aggressive," Priest said. "A bad hole doesn't kill your chances; it's just one hole, whereas, in stroke play, one bad hole can really hurt."

Seniors Cody Paladino and Payne Gniewek lead Baylor into match play. Paladino is averaging 74.64 strokes through 14 rounds and recorded his season-first top-10 finish March 1 at the Charleston Shootout. Gniewek will make his first showing in the Baylor lineup since last month's spring opener at UTSA Oak Hills Invitational. The Trenton, Mich., native owns a 74.29 scoring average through 14 rounds.

Baylor's remaining lineup includes three sophomores - Ryan O'Rear, Jerry Ruiz and Matthew Seligmann. Both O'Rear and Ruiz have competed in five tournaments this season; O'Rear ranks second on the team in scoring average (73.71), score vs. par (2.00) and percentage of rounds counted (92.9). Ruiz ranks fourth in scoring average (74.14) and is one of five different Bears to record a top-10 finish this season. Seligmann will make his second career appearance; the Houston, Texas, native made his collegiate debut last fall at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate.

"We get to see what match play is all about and it will not only provide us with a good opportunity, but it'll also be a good eye-opener, as well," Priest said.

Following the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship, Baylor will travel to Laredo, Texas, for the Border Olympics, which will be held March 25-26 at Laredo Country Club.