Before teams were assigned to the six regional sites for the NCAA men’s golf championship, senior Scott Fernandez had his hopes set on a certain part of the country.

“I like the West Coast, we go there quite a bit,” Fernandez said of the ISU men’s golf team’s six western trips this season. “We perform pretty well down there, so I think that would be the best place for us.”

Fernandez’ wish was the NCAA’s command as the Cyclones are headed to Bremerton, Wash., to compete in the NCAA Regional tournament on May 14 to 16 alongside 13 other teams vying for five team berths and one individual berth into the field of 30 at the NCAA Championship.

The Seattle suburb will differ from the desert locales of Arizona and California that Iowa State, ranked No. 43 by Golfstat, grew accustomed to during five tournaments and one weekend of practice, though ISU coach Andrew Tank said that the new venue did not temper the team’s excitement.

“I think we were excited, it’s a new part of the country for a lot of the guys so we were excited to see were going out to Seattle,” Tank said. “It’s the first regional that was announced on the selection show, so that was cool, too.”

The drama was taken out of the selection show, which aired on Golf Channel, as Iowa State quickly learned its regional fate.

Another type of drama of a more impactful variety is also absent as the team will head to regionals with a full, healthy lineup, a luxury Iowa State was not afforded in 2014.

Before last year’s regional tournament, Iowa State’s No. 2 starter, Nick Voke, suffered a collarbone injury in a longboarding accident that rendered him unavailable for the postseason.

In a pinch, reserve Jack Carter was summoned from summer vacation at home in Ohio to fill in for Voke. The formula worked as Iowa State rode a hot final round at the regionals to pull off the upset to become the lowest-seeded team in the field at nationals.

Though things ended up working in Iowa State’s favor that time, seven-seeded Iowa State will likely need Voke’s contributions if it is to advance and do damage at nationals, where the Cyclones finished in 25th place.

“Knock on wood, it’s been way less dramatic leading up to regionals compared to last year,” Tank said. “It feels good, everybody’s healthy. We had a really nice end of the year banquet for our two seniors, Scott and Sam [Daley]. We congratulated them this weekend, their families were able to see them graduate. We’ve had a nice last week and a half or so.”

Along with health, Iowa State also landed a favorable draw in terms of its competition.

The field is devoid of top-five teams in Golfstat’s rankings and the likes of Texas and Arizona State, who ran roughshod in blowout victories in two of Iowa State’s recent tournaments, will not be in the field.

Despite the favorable fortune Iowa State received on paper leading up to the tournament, Tank understands the level of play needed to advance, regardless of the competition.

“[No. 12] Washington, being the host school and being one of the top programs, is strong,” he said. “I also have a lot of respect for South Carolina, I think they’re a bit underrated as a team. You just know when you go to an NCAA regional you’re going to have to play well. There’s really no way to get around that by getting a lucky draw. “

The first of three rounds from Gold Mountain Golf Club will begin on May 14, with the second and third rounds on subsequent days. Iowa State is slated to compete alongside eight-seed No. 44 Sam Houston State and nine-seed No. 54 Michigan in round one.