April 29, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS (NCAA.com)--The NCAA Division I Women's Golf Committee has announced the teams and individuals selected to participate in the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship Regionals.

Three regional tournaments will be conducted May 8-10 to determine the championships field. Regional tournaments are considered preliminary rounds of NCAA championships competition, and all national championships policies will apply.

A total of 324 participants have been selected for regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each regional.

The championships finals will be held May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course, Albuquerque, New Mexico, hosted by the University of New Mexico. The regional sites and the selected teams and individuals are listed below.

Complete NCAA Regional Selections

ACC Teams in the 2008 NCAA Championship Field 

DUKE - No. 1 in East Regional

Top-Ranked Duke Women's Golf Receives East Region Bid

DURHAM, N.C.-- The top-ranked Duke women's golf team received its 16th consecutive bid to participate in NCAA Regional action on Monday as the Blue Devils were seeded No. 1 in the East Region and will next travel to Athens, Ga., from May 8-10 to play for a bid to the NCAA Championship. The tournament will be played at the 6,335-yard, Par 72 University of Georgia Golf Club.

"I am glad we are going back to the University of Georgia Golf Club," said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. "You need to respect that course and we gained respect for it when we went down there earlier this season. The greens have been redone -- you have to prepare yourself for it and take it very seriously. We will have a good practice round in preparation."

Duke has claimed East Region titles on seven occasions and is coming off shooting a 20-under-par, 844, last year in Baton Rouge, La. Other years the Blue Devils have won in the East Region were 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004).

The regional will be a three-day, 54-hole tournament with 18 holes played each day at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. The top eight teams and top two individuals (not on one of those eight teams) advance on to the NCAA Championships to be played May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M. The Blue Devils are the three-time defending NCAA Championships and have won a total of five NCAA titles (1999, 2002).

Earlier this season, Duke played at the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic, which was played at the University of Georgia Golf Club. The Blue Devils struggled finished tied for fifth with rounds of 314, 300, 304 for a total of 918. Blumenherst finished tied for third and Lee added a tied for 15th placement.

Duke is coming off winning its 13th consecutive ACC Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla.., and have won four of its nine tournaments this season, while also winning the NGCA Match Play Championship as well. Duke is led by four golfers ranked in the top 50 of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, including the nations top-ranked golfer, Amanda Blumenherst. Other Blue Devils ranked include junior Jennie Lee (21), sophomore Alison Whitaker (32), senior Jennifer Pandolfi (46).

WAKE FOREST - No. 5 in East Regional

Demon Deacons Headed to Athens, Ga. for NCAA East Regional

The No. 14 Wake Forest women's golf team will travel to Athens, Ga. for the second time this season as the fifth seed in the 2008 NCAA East Regional, May 8-10.

"We're excited to be headed back to Athens," Wake Forest head coach Dianne Dailey said. "We know the area. We can get there early and not worry about having to fly."

The Deacs finished eighth out of 17 teams at the Liz Murphey Collegiate on the University of Georgia Golf Course March 21-23. Wake posted a 63-over 927 as a team.

Freshman Allie Bodemann was the top finisher for the Deacs, ending the tournament in sole possession of 14th place. Junior Nannette Hill posted a top 25 finish with a 16-over 232 for the three day event.

VIRGINIA - No. 7 in East Regional

Virginia Women's Golf Team Receives NCAA Bid

Charlottesville, VA - For the fourth straight year the Virginia women's golf team has received a bid to the NCAA Championships. The Cavaliers will compete at the East Regional Championship May 8-10 at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. The top eight teams from each of the three 21-team regional sites will advance to the NCAA Championships along with the top two individuals from each site. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.

"After such a close call at the ACCs, being that close to the number-one team in the country (Duke), we are motivated and excited to play again," said Virginia first-year coach Kim Lewellen. "Virginia has established a tradition in such a short time of playing at NCAA regionals, now we want to get back to where the program was in 2005, and return to the NCAA Championships. It will be a challenge. The East Regional is really loaded with four of the top 10 teams in the country."

The Cavaliers enter postseason play ranked No. 20 by Golfstat and No. 21 by Golfweek. The Virginia lineup for postseason play will include freshman Calle Nielson, junior Lene Krog, freshman Joy Kim, junior Jennie Arseneault and sophomore Whitney Neuhauser.

Virginia, which fielded its first team in 2004, has qualified for the NCAAs each season since 2005, when the Cavaliers advanced to the NCAA Championships, finishing 13th overall. In 2006 UVa lost a playoff with Alabama for the final spot to the national tournament out of the East Regional. Last year the Cavaliers were ninth at the East Regional, just four shots out of eighth place, the final spot to advance to the NCAAs.

NORTH CAROLINA - No. 11 in West Regional

UNC Women's Golf Team Gets Bid To NCAA West Regional

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina women's golf team was one of 63 teams to receive a bid to participate in the NCAA Regionals. The Tar Heels will be playing in the West Regional May 8-10 . The 54-hole event will be played at Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Sacramento, Calif.

"We are happy to be playing in the West Regional in Sacramento," says North Carolina head coach Sally Austin. "We are looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to play our way into the NCAA Championship."

Carolina, ranked 33rd in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and 34th in Golfstat's Rankings, carded seven top 10 finishes this year. The Tar Heels finished fifth at the ACC Championship and the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational. They carded sixth-place finishes at the SJSU Spartan Invitational and the Cougar Classic, eighth-place finishes at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic and The Landfall Tradition, and a ninth-place finish at the Bryan National Collegiate.

This marks Carolina's 15th appearance in the NCAA Regionals. Since the regional format was instituted in women's golf in 1993, the Tar Heels have received a bid in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. All of these appearances were in the East Regional except this year (West).

FLORIDA STATE - No. 12 in Central Regional

Seminole Women's Golf Team Selected To Play In NCAA Championship Tournament

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida State University women's golf team, which finished in third place at the 2008 ACC Championship, has been selected to participate in the NCAA Central Regional Championship May 8-10 at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Tex. It marks the 15th time in the last 18 years that the Seminoles have been selected to participate in the regional championships which will be staged at three different courses around the nation next week. A total of 63 teams and nine individuals were selected to play in the three different locations to determine the top 24 teams in the nation who will then compete in the NCAA Championship Tournament May 20-23 at the Championship Golf Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.

Florida State enters the NCAA Central Regional coming off its best outing of the year - a third place finish at the ACC Championship. The Seminoles earned their highest ACC Championship of third place since 2001 when it also finished in third place. The Seminoles challenged No. 1 ranked Duke during the ACC championship and pulled ahead of the Blue Devils during the third round before finishing as the second runner-up.

The Seminoles have played in all but three regional championships since the NCAA adopted the regional qualifying format in 1991. Seminole Head Coach Debbie Dillman, in her 24th season, has led Florida State to 15 regional appearances and eight championship round appearances. Florida State has finished in the national top-20 in three of the last five years and finished in a tie for 16th place in the national championship tournament in 2006.

"We are playing our best golf right now so we are excited about being selected for the regionals," said Dillman. "We played a very tough schedule this spring in order to prepare for the post season and are very happy with how we are playing. The course at the University of Texas is a great layout and we feel like we have prepared ourselves to play well on any type of course. We are playing well when we need to be and are excited about being in the NCAA's again."

NC STATE - No. 13 in Central Regional

NC State Women's Golf Garners 7th Straight NCAA Bid

The NC State women's golf team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Central Regional Championship on Monday. The Wolfpack's invitation marks the seventh-straight trip to the championship in eight seasons since the program was reinstated in 2000.

NC State is the 13th seed among a field of 21 teams that will compete in the Central Regional, which takes place Thursday, May 8 through Saturday, May 10 at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin. Texas will serve as host for the event.

The Wolfpack is ranked No. 38 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance index, while Golfstat has the Pack No. 39.

NC State has finished 14th on three occasions since first being selected for NCAA play back in 2002. Individually, Colby Cobb had the most success for the Wolfpack finishing tied for 13th back in 2002 in Baton Rouge, La.

This is the first time NC State will compete in the Central Regional. The prior six trips were all played in the East Regional.