Three Southern Conference women’s golf teams will take part in the NCAA Women’s Golf East Regional in Baton Rouge, LA, next week. Western Carolina received the Southern Conference automatic bid to the championships with College of Charleston and Furman receiving at-large bids. This year marks the first time the Southern Conference has had three women's golf teams compete in the NCAA Regional. Below are the releases from the three schools. Competition begins Thursday, May 10.
2007 NCAA Women’s Golf East Regional
The East regional will be played May 10-12 at the University Club Golf Course, Baton Rouge, La., hosted by Louisiana State University. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution with most recent GolfStat rankings;
Participating Teams:
1. Duke (Atlantic Coast Conference)(1)
2. UCLA (9)
3. Auburn (6)
4. Purdue (12)
5. Texas A&M (Big 12 Conference)(14)
6. North Carolina (19)
7. Alabama (24)
8. Wake Forest (20)
9. South Carolina (25)
10. Virginia (21)
11. Florida State (28)
12. LSU (27)
13. Louisville (32)
14. South Florida (38)
15. North Carolina State (37)
16. Birmingham-Southern (Big South Conference) (39)
17. Furman (45)
18. College of Charleston (55)
19. Western Carolina (Southern Conference) (92)
20. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference) (97)
21. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (186)
Individuals:
1. Araceli Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina
2. Lene Krog, East Carolina
3. Amanda Mathis, Mississippi State
Western Carolina Women’s Golf Headed to NCAA East Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
Catamounts to play in regional May 10-12 at the University Club at LSU
Cullowhee, N.C. ? By way of a five-minute teleconference phone call with the NCAA on Monday afternoon, the 13-day wait for the 2007 Southern Conference Champion Western Carolina women’s golf came to an end. The Catamounts were among the first 19 teams named as the NCAA released its field of 63 teams and nine individuals, sending the Catamounts to the bayou for the NCAA East Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
The East Regional will be played May 10-12 at the par 72, 6,403-yard University Club Golf Course in Baton Rouge, hosted by Louisiana State University. Western, which claimed its second SoCon title all-time back on April 17, will be joined in Louisiana by two conference foes as both Furman and the College of Charleston each also garnered at-large bids.
“We are very excited to be going to the NCAA East Regional as the Southern Conference Champion,” said WCU Director of Golf and head women’s coach, Steve Lott. “Playing in the East, I feel like we will be facing some of the nation’s best. So this opportunity will allow us to tee it up against the best.”
He added, “We are also very excited to be joined by two other SoCon schools, both Furman and the College of Charleston, at the East Regional. It is a true testament to how far we have come as a conference in women’s golf over the past couple of years.”
According to the most recent GolfStat rankings, the top-rated team in the country, Duke, headlines the East Regional, with nine additional schools gracing the top 25 and 17 of the 21 ranking inside the top 50 in the country.
Practice rounds are scheduled for Wednesday, May 9, with tournament play slated to begin on Thursday, May 10 and continues through Saturday, May 12 with tee times based upon seeding.
CofC Women’s Golf Earns At-Large Bid to NCAA Tournament
Charleston, S.C. ? The National Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA) announced today via teleconference that the College of Charleston women's golf team will be heading to the NCAA East Regional at University Club in Baton Rouge, La., as an at-large team. The NCAA East Regional is May 10-12th.
The women’s team earned an at-large bid and will be making its second straight trip to an NCAA Regional. The Cougars made their first NCAA appearance last season, competing in the East Regional held at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, N.C., May 11th ? 13th. The team finished 15th behind Angie Hill, who shot a tournament low and CofC record 67 in the third round.
“I am extremely happy for the girls,” said Head CofC Women’s Golf Coach Jamie Futrell. “We look forward to playing at LSU where we have had some success in the past.”
The Cougars competed at the NCAA East Regional site earlier this season. Charleston tied for 13th at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic held at the University Club March 16 ? 18th.
The women’s golf team finished in the top 10 in seven of 11 tournaments this season. The Cougars won the Myrtle Beach Classic, shooting a school-record 890. Steffi Kirchmayr won the Palmetto Intercollegiate in October for her first career win. Charleston finished third at the Pelican Preserve Invitational behind Kirchmayr’s and Rapp’s tie at fifth.
The Cougars started the spring with two straight third-place finishes, at the Chrysler Challenge and Pinehurst Challenge. Fiona Puyo led the Cougars at Pinehurst, tying for sixth, while Kirchmayr paced the team at the Chrysler Challenge, tying for fourth.
Most recently, the Cougars tied for second at the Southern Conference tournament with Kirchmayr earning league Player of the Year honors. Megan Miller was selected to the All-Conference team.
Senior Megan Miller is the only returning 2006 NCAA Tournament participant. Senior Dinah Plyler, who is competing in the CofC top five in the SoCon tournament, was on the team last season but was not part of the top five that competed in post-season play. Miller finished fourth in the 2006 SoCon Tournament and tied for 61st in the 2006 NCAA tournament.
“Our goal was to become the first College of Charleston women’s team to receive an NCAA at-large bid in any sport. We talked about making history and today this team made history.”
The NCAA Finals will be held May 22-25th at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Lady Paladins Earn NCAA East Regional At-Large Bid
Greenville, S.C. ? The Furman women's golf team will compete in the NCAA East Regional, May 10-12, at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La., it was announced today by the NCAA Division I Golf Committee.
The Lady Paladins are one of 21 teams that will vie for a top eight finish, which qualifies for a berth in the NCAA Championships, May 22-25, at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. Joining Furman in the East Regional are top-ranked Duke, sixth-ranked Auburn, ninth-ranked UCLA, Southern Conference champion Western Carolina and the College of Charleston.
“We are very excited to compete in this year’s NCAA Regional and continue Furman’s tradition of making postseason appearances,” said second-year head coach Jen Hanna. “I felt like we had a better team this year than last, but we have not played up to our potential so far. We have played better in our last two outings and are thrilled to have the opportunity to play for a spot in the NCAA Championships.”
The Lady Paladins are no strangers to the 6,403-yard, par 72 layout at the University Club. Furman placed 17th in the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic on the same course March 16-18. Sophomore Blair Lamb (77-73-74=224) paced the Lady Paladins with a 21st place finish at eight over par.
Last season, the Lady Paladins placed 17th at the NCAA East Regional in Browns Summit, N.C. Furman placed third the 2005 NCAA East Regional in Gainesville, Fla., on its way to a 21st place showing at the NCAA Championships in Sunriver, Ore.
By competing in the 2007 NCAA East Regional, Furman continues its streak of never having missed the Division I women's golf postseason since the regional format began in 1993 (15 straight years). If the Lady Paladins advance to the National Championships, it will be the program's 16th appearance in the finals since 1983.