North Florida men's golf ties for third in New Haven Regional, advances to NCAA Championship

The University of North Florida tied for third Wednesday in the three-day New Haven Regional for men's golf, qualifying for next week's NCAA Championships. 

UNF finished 16-under 824 for the tournament, tied with Texas Tech, at the Yale Golf Club in New Haven, Conn.

The Ospreys advance to the NCAA Championships from May 27-June 1, scheduled for Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Wake Forest captured the regional title at 26 under, followed by North Carolina at 19 under. The top five colleges in the regional advanced to nationals.

The Ospreys had entered Wednesday's final round tied with Georgia Southern for third place at 12 under, shooting a final-round 276 at the par-70 course. The team began the tournament at No. 39 in the Golfstat Team Ranking for men's college golf.

UNF's Nick Gabrelcik shot a final-round 5-under 65 to finish at 7 under for the tournament, tied for fourth among individuals. Completing the Osprey roster were Ponte Vedra High School graduate Davis Lee (2 under), Robbie Higgins (1 under), Middleburg High School graduate Cody Carroll (even par) and Mandarin High School graduate Brandon Mancheno (2 over).

Another local, Ponte Vedra's Scotty Kennon, shot a 4-under 206 for the tournament to tie for eighth among individuals while leading Wake Forest to the overall regional title. 

In the Palm Beach Regional, held at the PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida State placed second and Florida third to qualify behind regional champion Vanderbilt. 

Former Providence School golfer Sam Nicholson, competing for USF, shot a 3-under 213 to finish top 10 among individuals in the Palm Beach Regional, helping the Bulls place fourth.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.