Men's Golf:

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Sept. 2, 2008

IRVINE, Calif. --- Coach Paul Smolinski's UC Irvine men's golf team competes in the 26th annual Topy Cup at Tanagura Country Club in Tanagura, Japan, next Tuesday through Thursday (Sept. 9-11).

The Anteaters will be joined by American counterparts Charlotte, Lamar and New Mexico in the field that includes eight Japanese teams. Eighteen holes will be played each day.

UCI's lineup is expected to be junior John Chin, senior Sean Shahi, freshman Michael Im, sophomore Bryan Harris and senior Cean Hayashi Geronimo.

Tohoku Fukushi University has won the last three tournament titles and Japanese schools have captured 13 of the last 17 championships. New Mexico was the last U.S. school to win, placing first in the 2004 tournament.

"The Topy Cup has a long history in college golf and UC Irvine is excited to be a part of that tradition this year," Smolinski said. "There are only four men's teams from the U.S. that participate each year, so we are grateful for what is a 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity for our players to compete in a college tournament in Japan.

"I understand that the Japanese teams are very good and I know the American teams will be strong---it should be an extremely competitive field. Being the first tournament of the year and as early as it is, I am not sure what to expect from my team. I am hoping the momentum from last season and the strong play from our players this summer will carry over to a successful week in Japan," Smolinski added.

UCI is coming off its most successful season in the 30 years of Division I competition at the university.

The Anteaters won the Big West Conference Championship at Tijeras Creek Golf Club for the second straight year and advanced to NCAA regional play for the seventh time in the past eight years.

Junior John Chin was medalist (207) at the Big West Championships and was named Big West Player of the Year along with first-team honors. Sean Shahi, a senior this fall, placed second (210) in the conference tournament and was selected to the All-Big West first team. Senior Tim Cha, who was third at the Big West Championship and earned all-conference first team honors, is expected to redshirt this season.

Smolinski was named Big West Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his 10 seasons with the Anteaters.

UCI finished third in the NCAA East Regional at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn., to earn a berth in the NCAA Championship at The Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Anteaters finished 20th at the NCAA tournament, missing the 54-hole cut. Chin, Shahi and Cha each shot 229 over three rounds at the NCAA Championship.

UCI recorded nine top-five finishes in its 14 tournaments last season. Chin, who had seven top-10 finishes, led the team with a 71.57 average. Chin was named to the PING All-Pacific Region team. Shahi had six top-10s and averaged 71.98. He was medalist at the Turtle Bay Resort Collegiate Invitational in Hawaii.

This summer, Chin was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and he and Cha competed at the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst.

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