CONOVER, N.C. -- Barry men's golf team is headed back to the NCAA Championships.
The No. 1-ranked Buccaneers qualified for the Division II National Championships May 15-19 in Simpsonville, Ky., after finishing second Wednesday at the South/Southeast Super Regional. Marcus Segerstrom fired a 3-under 69 to anchor Barry's final round 286.
It marks the sixth time, all under coach Jimmy Stobs, the Buccaneers advanced to the national championships. It also is the fourth straight year the Bucs will play for a national title.
The Bucs, who shot 870 in the three-day event at the 7,064-yard Rock Barn Golf Club, finished runner-up to Georgia College & State by a stroke. Nova Southeastern was third at 872 after a blazing 277 third round. North Carolina-Pembroke was fourth at 876 and South Carolina-Aiken fifth at 880.
Segerstrom tied for seventh at 3-under 213. He had four birdies in the final round. Aiken's Matt Atkins won the tournament at 6-under 210 after shooting 70 for three straight days.
Georgia Southwestern's J.P. Griffin, Georgia College & State's Taylor Smith and Nova's Ben Taylor tied for second at 211. Griffin and Eckerd's Jeff Evanier, who shot 212 and tied for fifth, qualified as individuals for the NCAA Championships.
Barry's Marcelo Huarte tied for 15th at 3-over 219, following his 2-over 74 Wednesday. He capped his round with a birdie on the 569-yard 18th -- his eighth birdie in the tournament.
Simon Forsslund shot 1-under 71 in the final round to finish tied for 32nd with Bucs teammate Scott Smyers. Forsslund birdied four holes, including the 18th, to put the finishing touches on his best round of the event. Smyers shot even par Wednesday, making two of his 10 birdies in the final round.
Daniel Stapff closed with a 75. He birdied the par-3, 170-yard 9th to cap a 1-over front nine, bringing his birdie tournament total to five.
Barry entered the final round in a tie for third, and moved up to the top spot midway through the day. The Bucs played their best golf of the tournament in Wednesday's final round, shooting the third-best round of the 54-hole event. Only Nova (277) and Georgia Southwestern (285) put up lower team rounds than the Bucs.