INDIANAPOLIS - After finishing third at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships earlier this week, UC San Diego will advance to the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships for the first time in five years, it was announced on Friday. The Tritons will be competing in the Central/West Super Regional May 7-9 at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

UCSD was one of 10 teams to qualify from the West Region, earning the No. 8 seed in the field. Five other schools from the CCAA will join the Tritons in Arizona, including conference champion Chico State, Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. Western Washington, Grand Canyon, Hawaii Hilo, Dixie State and St. Martin's will round out the West field.

Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado State-Pueblo, Western New Mexico, Nebraska-Kearney, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Colorado Mesa, Bemidji State and Concordia-St. Paul will represent the Central Region.

Grand Canyon University will serve as the host institution for the Central/West Regional site.

The top five teams and the top two individuals not with a team from each regional will advance to the finals May 15-19, at The Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Ky. as part of the 2012 Division II Spring Championships Festival. The festival will be hosted by Bellarmine University and the Louisville Sports Commission.

UCSD enters NCAA play having placed in the top-three in two of its last three tournaments. The Tritons finished second out of 11 teams at the Fort Lewis Skyhawk Desert Shootout April 2-3, before posting their highest-ever finish at the CCAA Championships on Tuesday in Paso Robles.

Freshman Jay Lim propelled UCSD to the historic finish, carding a final tally of 5-under, 211 on the Hunter Ranch Golf Course championship layout. He finished in a two-way tie for fourth place overall. The La Canada native leads the Tritons with a stroke average of 75.0 in 33 rounds this season.

Joining Lim in Arizona will be Lewis Simon, Jacob Williams, Marc Herrmann and Austin Shuxiao. Sophomores Simon and Williams have played in every tournament for the Tritons this season, while Herrmann and Shuxiao have come on strong in their first seasons at UCSD.

UCSD will be making its first NCAA Super Regional appearance since 2007, when the Tritons finished sixth out of eight squads at the Northwest/West Regional in Lakewood, Colo.

For the complete 2012 regional field, click here.