Chattanooga Headed to Greenville, N.C. for NCAA East Regional
Mocs are making to second straight regional appearance looking to return to the finals
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s golf team is going to Greenville, N.C., to compete in the NCAA East Regional the NCAA announced Monday afternoon. The Mocs are the automatic qualifier out of the Southern Conference due to their first SoCon title last week.
The regional is a 24-team field with eight teams advancing to the NCAA Championship at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. Chattanooga, ranked No. 36 nationally, is looking to make a return trip to the finals.
“It will definitely be a challenge,” said head coach Colette Murray. “We play a tough schedule every year to prepare us for this time of year so we know what we are up against.”
Chattanooga is 15-21 against the East Regional field for 2009-10 including wins over top seed and No. 3 ranked Duke, No. 21 TCU and North Carolina. The Mocs finished eighth in the NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio last year in just the second year of the program. Junior Emma de Groot was an individual qualifier for the 2007 NCAA East Regional in the program’s first year of competition.
de Groot and sophomore Maria Juliana Loza lead the team into the regional as All-SoCon performers in 2009-10. de Groot is ranked No. 34 nationally with five top 5 finishes on the season including a win at the SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational earlier this month followed by her second-place finish at the SoCon Championship. She is averaging 73.0 shots per round over her last nine, 73.7 for the Spring semester.
Loza has been a stabilizing factor throughout the season. She combined with de Groot to shoot four-under par (Loza, -3) on the back nine to spearhead a comeback from five shots down to win the SoCon title. With two top 10s in the Spring as well as several top 100 individual victories, the sophomore from Colombia is playing her best golf at the right time.
Junior Christine Wolf is playing extremely well right now. She has three top 20s in the last four events with two top 10s. Wolf finished tied for sixth at the SoCon Championship and is averaging 74.7 strokes per round over the last two tourneys.
Senior Katie Taylor rounds out the travel squad for the Mocs. She was a starter on Murray’s first team two years ago that won four times in 2007-08. She has returned to the lineup this Spring and is vital to the Mocs’ chances to advance.
“We are very excited,” added Murray. “After what we did a year ago qualifying for finals, we know what to expect.”
The NCAA East Regional is May 6-8 at Ironwood Country Club in Greenville. The finals are May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.
NCAA East Regional
May 6-8 ? Greenville, N.C. ? Ironwood Country Club
Duke
Auburn
Wake Forest
Pepperdine
Vanderbilt
Tennessee
Florida
TCU
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tulane
CHATTANOOGA
Washington
Texas Tech
Georgia State
Campbell
East Tennessee State
FURMAN
Coastal Carolina
East Carolina
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Stetson
Charleston Southern
Fairleigh Dickinson
CofC Women’s Golf Earns NCAA At-Large Bid
Charleston, S.C. -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today via teleconference that the College of Charleston women's golf team will be heading to the NCAA East Regional at Ironwood Country Club in Greenville, N.C., as an at-large team. The NCAA East Regional is May 6-8.
“The committee rewarded us for a very solid spring,” said Head Coach Jamie Futrell. “It’s great to have such a young team get this experience. For me personally, Greenville is a special place. I lived there for several years in high school, so it will be like coming home for me.”
The women’s team earned an at-large bid and will be making its fourth trip in five years to an NCAA Regional.
The Cougars made their first NCAA appearance in 2006, competing in the East Regional held at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, N.C. The team finished 15th behind Angie Hill, who shot a tournament low and CofC record 67 in the third round.
In 2007, Charleston competed at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La., coming away with a 16th-place finish. Senior Steffi Kirchmayr (Pocking, Germany) led the Cougars, tying for 26th with a three-round total of 217.
The 2009 team finished 20th in the East Regional held at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. Steffi Kirchmayr led the Cougars, tying for 61st with a 228.
The women’s golf team has had a solid season, closing out the fall with a win at the Pinehurst Challenge held Nov. 2-3 in Pinehurst, N.C. Vanessa Koechli (Greer, S.C.) led the Cougars, placing second in the event. The Cougars also finished second at the Wendy’s Intercollegiate held at Coosaw Creek Country Club in North Charleston.
This spring the Cougars finished ninth at the Edwin Watts Kiawah Island Classic and fourth at the UCF Intercollegiate. Whittaker led the team in both events, tying for ninth and eighth, respectively. Charleston led for two rounds of the Southern Conference Tournament before Chattanooga slipped past the Cougars in the final round to take the win and NCAA Tournament automatic bid. Ainhoa Nogales (Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain) finished third to lead the team.
Current Cougar golfers Leigh Whittaker (Baden-Baden, Germany) and Emily Rapp (Simpsonville, S.C.) played in the NCAA Tournament last year, with Whittaker tying for 80th and Rapp finishing 98th.
The NCAA Finals will be held May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.
Furman Women’s Golf Earns At-Large Bid To NCAA East Regional
Greenville, S.C. -- The Furman women’s golf team has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA East Regional, set for May 6-8, at the par-72 Ironwood Golf Club in Greenville, N.C., it was announced on Monday by the NCAA Division I Golf Committee.
The Paladins are part of a 24-team East Regional field that will battle for a top eight finish and a berth in the 24-team NCAA Championship which is set to be held May 17-21, at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. This year’s East Regional field includes four of the top 10 teams in the country including Auburn, Duke, Pepperdine and Wake Forest. The Paladins are seeded No. 18 and are joined by fellow Southern Conference members Chattanooga and College of Charleston.
Furman, ranked No. 54 in the latest Golfweek Rankings and No. 52 by GolfStat.com, will be making its 18th straight NCAA Regional appearance. The at-large bid continues Furman’s streak of having never missed the NCAA Division I women’s golf postseason since the regional format began in 1993. The Paladins will be in search of their 17th trip to the NCAA Championship and first since advancing to the 24-team final at the University of New Mexico in 2008 when they qualified by placing eighth at the NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga.
Two-time SoCon Player-of-the-Year Stefanie Kenoyer will lead Furman’s five-member team into postseason play. The 2008 and 2009 SoCon Individual Medalist, the junior leads the Paladins with a 73.6 stroke average and seven top 10 finishes in 10 tournaments this season. The Lighthouse Point, Fla., native is joined by fellow three-time All-SoCon selection Jackie Hilea and freshman Alexa Rancourt.
Last season the Paladins fashioned a 14th place finish at the NCAA East Regional in Gainesville, Fla., after claiming their second straight Southern Conference tournament crown.