March 23, 1999

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest University, co-hosts of the 1999 Bryan National Collegiate women's golf tournament, have finalized the 12-team field of the weekend event. The tournament will be held March 26-28 at the Bryan Park Golf Course Champions Course in Browns Summit.

In addition to the UNCG and WFU squads, the field includes teams from Colorado, Kentucky, Furman, Memphis, North Carolina, New Mexico State, Ohio State, Penn State and Washington, as well as the Swedish National Team.

Washington is the highest ranked team in the field, placing 14th in the March 17 MasterCard Collegiate Golf rankings administered by the College Golf Foundation. UNC Chapel Hill is currently ranked 20th in the poll. Ohio State, Memphis and New Mexico State are ranked 22nd, 23rd and 24th, respectively. Co-host Wake Forest follows in 27th place. Furman checks in at No. 35, while UNCG is 43rd. Penn State is the final ranked team in the field, entering the tournament in the 44th slot.

Six individuals are also ranked in the top 50 of the MasterCard rankings. Freshman Kelli Kamimura of Washington leads the field, ranked No. 15, while teammate Elisha Au ranks 41st. Natalie Tucker, a Memphis sophomore, places 21st in the poll, while Stacey Burnett of Furman is 29th. Junior Marcy Newton of UNC Chapel Hill is in the 34th spot, while Wake Forest sophomore Marta Prieto ranks 42nd. UNCG's only ranked individual is junior Lotta Jonson at No. 76. Fifteen of the top 100 individuals as ranked by MasterCard will compete in this weekend's event.

The Champions Course at Bryan Park has a length of 6,074 yards and is a par 72. The course features bentgrass greens and bermuda fairways intertwined with 97 sand traps. Each team will play 54 holes - 18 holes per day. Rounds will begin at 8:30 am on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday's final round will be an 8:30 am shotgun start. Participants will tee off at the No. 1 and 10 holes to begin each round. Practice round times on Thursday will begin at 9 am and will run until 1 pm, while the practice range will open at 7:30 am each day.