The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Golf preview: NCAA Central Regional Championship
05.05.2008 | Women's Golf
WHAT: Texas opens NCAA postseason play at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional Championship. The top eight team finishers and the top two individuals not on the eight qualifying teams will advance to the 2008 NCAA Championship set for May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M.
WHERE: The University of Texas Golf Club (par 72, 6,301 yards) - Austin, Texas
WHEN: The tournament field will play 18 holes each day from Thursday, May 8 through Saturday, May 10; Texas will tee off on May 8 at 8:10 a.m. Central off of the 10th tee and on May 9 at 12:30 p.m. off of the first tee.
LAST TIME OUT: Texas placed third at the 2008 Big 12 Championship on April 27 in Stillwater, Okla. UT's top finisher, sophomore Shannon Fish, tied for sixth overall.
Scouting the NCAA Central Regional Field Teams
1. UCLA
- Ranked No. 2 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- The Bruins' Tiffany Joh ranks fourth nationally with a 72.04 avg. score and is tied for the lowest round in college golf this season with a 65.
2. Purdue
- Ranked No. 6 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- Earned automatic bid from the Big 10 Conference
- Won the 2007 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the UT Golf Club, site of the 2008 NCAA Central Regional; the Boilermakers' Maria Hernandez took medalist honors at the event.
3. Alabama
- Ranked No. 8 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- The Crimson Tide's Kathleen Ekey ranks 11th nationally with a 72.90 scoring average and is tied nationally for the lowest round with a 65.
4. Denver
- Ranked No. 12 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- Earned automatic bid from the Sun Belt Conference
- The Pioneers lead the nation with nine eagles on the season.
- The Pioneers' Katie Kempter and Stephanie Sherlock are tied nationally for the lowest round with a 65 and rank 35th nationally with a 74.04 scoring average
5. Kent State
- Ranked No. 14 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- Earned automatic bid from the Mid-American Conference
6. Pepperdine
- Ranked No. 17 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- The Waves' Taylore Karle ranks 12th nationally with a 73.04 scoring average
7. LSU
- Ranked No. 20 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- Placed sixth at the Southeastern Conference Championship
8. Texas A&M
- Ranked No. 22 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- Placed second at the Big 12 Conference Championship
- Placed second at the 2006 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the UT Golf Club, site of the 2008 NCAA Central Regional Championship
9. Notre Dame
- Ranked No. 25 in the GolfWorld/Nike Coaches Poll
- Big East Conference automatic qualifier
- Tied for fifth at the 2008 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the UT Golf Club, site of the 2008 NCAA Central Regional Championship
10. TEXAS
- Placed third at the 2008 Big 12 Championship and also at the other event hosted this year at the UT Golf Club, the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational.
- Making first NCAA regional appearance since 2006
- Looking to advance to first NCAA Championship, as a team, since 2004
11. TCU
- Placed fourth at the Mountain West Conference Championship
- Tied for fifth at the 2008 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the UT Golf Club, site of the 2008 NCAA Central Regional Championship
12. Florida State
- Placed third at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
- The Seminoles' Caroline Westrup ranks 13th nationally with a 73.22 scoring average.
13. N.C. State
- Placed sixth at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
14. East Tennessee State
- Atlantic Sun Conference automatic qualifier
15. Texas Tech
- Placed seventh at the 2008 Big 12 Conference Championship
- The Red Raiders' Alex Gibson is tied for second nationally with four eagles.
16. Washington
- Placed ninth at the Pacific 10 Conference Championship
- The Huskies' Christina Yoon and Anya Alvarez are tied for third nationally for the lowest round of the season (67).
17. Nebraska
- Placed sixth at the Big 12 Conference Championship
- Placed 16th at the 2008 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the UT Golf Club, site of the 2008 NCAA Central Regional Championship.
18. Harvard
- The Crimson won their first ever Ivy League Championship by 10 strokes on April 20.
- Jessica Hazlett aced the par three, 150-yard 17th hole at the Ivy League Championship.
19. Texas State
- Southland Conference automatic qualifier
- The Bobcats' Linn Gustaffson ranks fourth nationally in scoring on par-three holes (3.05 stroke average)
20. Illinois State
- Missouri Valley Conference automatic qualifier
21. Fairleigh Dickinson
- Northeast Conference automatic qualifier
INDIVIDUALS
1. Steffi Kirchmayr, College of Charleston
- Ranked 42nd nationally with a 74.18 scoring average
2. Sara Wikstrom, Arkansas
- Little Rock
- Ranked 45th nationally with a 74.33 scoring average
3. Araceli Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina
- Making second consecutive NCAA regional appearance; tied for 13th at the 2007 NCAA East Regional (214, -2)
HORNS HEAD INTO FIRST NCAA POSTSEASON UNDER RICHARDS
Under first-year coach Martha Richards, Texas hosts the NCAA Central Regional Championship on a high note with top-five finishes at its last three events.
The Horns took third in the 15-team Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational from March 17-19 in Austin before placing fourth at the 15-team Indiana Invitational on April 7 and 8 in Carmel, Ind. Within the last month, Texas also has added dual-match victories against Texas State and Baylor in a pair of one-day, 18-hole events. Most recently, Texas took third at the 2008 Big 12 Championship at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
Richards took over the helm of the Longhorns' program last summer after leading the Vanderbilt program to national prominence during her seven seasons in Nashville. Richards and the Horns began the season in impressive fashion last September at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C., where Texas' 54-hole stroke total of 875 tied for the lowest 54-hole tournament score in school history. Texas placed third overall to register its best tournament showing since the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic (April 9-10, 2006), when UT placed third.
The Cougar Classic also marked the first time Texas shot three sub-300 rounds in the same tournament since the Stanford Pepsi Intercollegiate in the fall of 2004.
ROLLINS LEADS HORNS WIRE-TO-WIRE
Senior Ashley Rollins, who played two seasons of collegiate golf at New Mexico, has made an enormous impact on the Texas program in her lone season with the Longhorns. The Austin native led the Horns in all eight regular-season tournaments this season and was tabbed the Big 12 Women's Golfer of the Month for February after tying for third place at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla.
Rollins, who played the opening two rounds of the 2007 U.S. Women's Open, helped Texas at the season-opening Cougar Classic by tying for eighth place. In addition to the aforementioned third-place showing at the Central District Invitational, Rollins helped Texas to third place at its Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational by tying for seventh place overall.
Rollins notched her fourth top-10 finish of the season on April 8 at the Indiana Invitational, where she tied for fifth place and led Texas to a fourth-place team finish.
TEXAS TAKES THIRD AT BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Texas landed its best finish at the Big 12 Championship since 2005 when it took third place at the three-day event last month (April 25-27) in Stillwater, Okla.
Texas saved its finest round for last, firing a 30-over 318 in the final round to end the event in third with a 94-over 958. Host Oklahoma State won the 54-hole event with a 48-over 912, and Texas A&M took second at 75-over par.
TWICE AS NICE FOR FISH
Texas sophomore Shannon Fish landed the top Longhorn finish at the Big 12 Championship for a second consecutive year after firing a seven-over 79 in the final round and tying for sixth overall with a 19-over 235. Last season, as a first-semester freshman, Fish tied for 11th place at the 2007 Big 12 Championship in Waco.
BEST RETURNS TO NCAA COMPETITION
Senior Julia Best is the lone active Longhorn to have represented Texas at a NCAA event. The Bulverde native made her first NCAA postseason appearance in 2005, when she placed 96th at the NCAA Central Regional Championship.
Best returned to NCAA competition in 2006 and advanced to the NCAA Championship as an individual by tying for 13th place overall at the NCAA Central Regional. Best joined Texas-Ex Devan Andersen at the 2006 NCAA Championship and tied for 83rd place after shooting a 22-over 310 over 72 holes.
SIX LONGHORNS NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
The University of Texas women's golf team led the Big 12 Conference with six selections to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Team, the league announced Wednesday, April 23.
Among those selected were seniors Angela Akins, Julia Best, Kelley Louth and Ashley Rollins and juniors Caney Hines and Kristin Walla. All six Longhorns were selected to the first team.
First-team members have maintained a 3.20 minimum grade-point average, either cumulatively or in each of the past two semesters, while second-team members maintained a minimum 3.0 grade-point average.
All nominees, except for seniors, must have participated in 60 percent of her team's scheduled matches. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first years of academic residence at their respective schools.
