May 13, 2000

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Senior Marcy Newton tied for fifth place after scoring a 73 in the final round for a 219 total in the NCAA East Regional. That finish advances Newton to the NCAA Championships which will be played May 14-17 in Sunriver, Ore. The Tar Heel team finished in 17th place in the East Regional with a 931 total failing to advance to the NCAA Championship as the top 11 teams and top three individuals (not on one of those 11 teams) continue their seasons.

Duke captured the team title with an 897 total after firing a 295 in the final round. That was three strokes better than Purdue and Northwestern which tied for second place with 900 totals. Tennessee finished fourth at 902 while Louisiana State finished fifth at 903, Michigan State finished sixth at 906 and two teams, Wake Forest and Auburn, tied for seventh place with 907 totals.

Kari Damron of Purdue and Lisa Strom of Ohio State were co-medalists as both carded even par 216 totals. Celeste Troche of Auburn finished one shot back in third place at 217 while Beth Bauer of Duke finished fourth at 218. A trio of players tied for fifth place at 219 - Carolina's Marcy Newton, Purdue's Stacy Orschell and Campbell's Sharron O'Neill. Besides Newton, the other two individuals who advance to NCAAs are O'Neill of Campbell who tied for fifth place and Jennifer Perri of Furman who tied for 21st with a 226 total.

For the Tar Heels, in addition to Newton's fifth-place tie, Heather Angell tied for 40th place with a 230 total, Abby Spector tied for 84th at 237, Beth Lever tied for 110th place at 245 and Britta Olson tied for 125th place with a 258 total.

The 54-hole event was played at the University Scarlet Course at Ohio State which features a par 72, 6,037-yard layout.