SAINT LEO, Fla. – After clinching the final spot out of the South/Southeast Regional, No. 18 Saint Leo men's golf is headed to the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship in Daniels, W. Va. at The Resort at Glades Springs May 20-24.
 
After an hour and a half weather delay in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. for the South/Southeast Regional on May 11, Saint Leo clinched the seventh spot out of the region to advance to the national championship for the second straight year. The Lions as a team fired off a 901 (+37) over the 54-hole tournament as the Green and Gold will be joined by Lynn, West Florida, Barry, Florida Southern, USC-Aiken, and Lincoln Memorial.
 
Dave Longhini paced the Green and Gold at the south regional with a 23rd place finish at eight-over 224 with rounds of 78-75-71. Oliver Lilliedahl tied for 39th at 227 (+11) while Nilo Sanchez was a stroke off at 228 (+12), good enough for tied for 46th. Alberto Castagnara and Antoine Beaupre-Vachon both tied for 72nd at 16-over, 232.
 
A total of 20 teams will be embarking on Daniels, W.Va. with seven teams from arguably the strongest region, the south. Eight individuals will join the 20 teams to compete for the individual national title. The South's streak of national titles will be defended as the region has shown dominance winning 17 of the last 19 national titles with the defending national champions Lynn University in the mix.
 
The Sunshine State Conference will have four representatives in Lynn, Barry, Florida Southern and Saint Leo while the SSC has won seven straight titles, and eight of the last nine. The Moccasins pace the south in number of titles with 13 ahead of Barry and USC-Aiken at three, West Florida at two and Saint Leo with one, coming in 2016.
 
At the 2018 national championship, the Lions' Oliver Lilliedahl placed third in the stroke play portion at 12-under 204 with rounds of 70, 65, and 69. The eight teams to advance to the medal/match play were Florida Southern, Barry, Lynn, West Florida, Indianapolis, Arkansas Tech, Saint Leo and Lincoln Memorial before the Fighting Knights knocked off the Argonauts 3-2 for the 2018 national title.
 
Saint Leo won its first title in program history in 2016 when the Green and Gold knocked off Chico State 3-2 in the finals match in Denver, Colo. The Lions returned to medal/match play in 2018 but fell to Barry 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's golf program be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.