The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Golf preview: NCAA Championship
05.16.2009 | Women's Golf
May 16, 2009
Complete Notes
TEXAS at NCAA Championship
Caves Valley Golf Club - Owings Mills, Md.
- TEXAS ADVANCES TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ... The No. 17-seed University of Texas Women's Golf team (288-290-295=873, +9) became the highest seed at the NCAA West Regional Championship to advance to the NCAA Championship after securing a tie for fourth place with a 7-over 295. The Longhorns' bid to the NCAA Championship marks their second-straight under second-year head coach Martha Richards and 19th overall appearance.
- WALLA LEADS LONGHORNS WITH CAREER-BEST IN WEST REGIONAL ... Senior Kristin Walla (70-72-73=215, -1) led or co-led UT in each round and recorded a career-best tie for ninth place at 1-under 215. The Aspen, Colo., native carded seven birdies and six bogeys throughout the 54-hole affair en route to her best performance as a Longhorn. Walla was previously Texas' top individual at the Central District Invitational (Feb. 16-17, 2009).
- 2008 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FLASHBACK ... Under the direction of then first-year head coach Martha Richards, the Longhorns tied for 17th at the NCAA Championship in their first appearance at the event since 2004. Julia Best, Shannon Fish, Caney Hines, Ashley Rollins and Kristin Walla comprised UT's lineup, with Rollins leading the Longhorns with a tie for 23rd place.
- VETERAN EXPERIENCE ... Three Texas players have NCAA Championship experience under their belts. Seniors Caney Hines and Kristin Walla each competed for the Longhorns in Albuquerque last May, as did junior Shannon Fish. Senior Kelley Louth and freshman Nicole Vandermade will be making their Championship debuts.
- ABOUT THE COURSE ... Privately owned and managed, Caves Valley Golf Club (par 72, 6,443 yards) is located within a thirty-five minute drive of Baltimore's Inner Harbor and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Nine hundred sixty-two acres of rolling hills, pastures, woods and wetlands, situated amid the natural beauty of Maryland's estate and hunt country, form a spectacular setting for the golf club and its support facilities.
- VANDERMADE EARNS ALL-BIG 12 WOMEN'S GOLF HONORS ... Texas freshman Nicole Vandermade was recently named to the 2009 All-Big 12 Women's Golf Team, becoming the 13th player in Texas history to earn the honor. Throughout the 2008-09 season, Vandermade posted a team-best scoring average of 74.94 and recorded UT's best individual finish in four events. She also landed All-Tournament Team honors after tying for 10th place at the Big 12 Women's Golf Championship.
- LEADING THE LONGHORNS ... Freshman Nicole Vandermade has paced the Longhorns this season with a team-best scoring average of 74.94. Although Vandermade holds the low average for UT, junior Shannon Fish accounted for the squad's lowest round in relation to par and raw score with a 4-under 68 at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.
- SOLID SENIOR ... Senior Kelley Louth is making the most of her final rounds as a Longhorn. Louth was Texas' top finisher in three-straight tournament appearances with a tie for 10th place at the UCF Challenge (March 8-10), tie for 29th at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational (March 20-22) and a career-best tie for second at the Indiana Invitational (April 6-7). Her fiery finale to her college career began on March 1 at The University of Texas Golf Club when she tied fellow senior Caney Hines for medalist honors in Texas' match against Texas State.
- VANDERMADE OFF THE TEE ... Freshman Nicole Vandermade has taken advantage of her distance off the tee, especially on par-5 holes. She ranks 37th nationally with a par-5 scoring average of 4.90. Additionally, she is ranked 55th with 71 birdies through 31 rounds of golf, which is an average of 2.3 birdies per round.
- FISH FINDING THE FAIRWAY ... Consistency may very well be the key to junior Shannon Fish's golf game. Fish has hit 89.8 percent of her fairways this season for a mark that ranks 9th nationally.
- SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM ... Five University of Texas women's golf student-athletes earned a spot on the 2009 Academic All-Big 12 Women's Golf Team. Seniors Kelley Louth, Meredith McMahan and Kristin Walla were named to the First Team, while senior Caney Hines and junior Shannon Fish were selected to the Second Team. Walla's nomination marks her third career selection to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, while Louth and Hines were first-team honorees in 2008.
NCAA Championship
Host: Georgetown
Location: Owings Mills, Md.
Course: Caves Valley Golf Club
Par/Yardage 72/6,443
Sunday, May 17 Practice round
Monday, May 18 Practice Round
Tuesday, May 19 First Round (8:30 a.m.)
Wednesday, May 20 Second Round (12:50 p.m.)
Thursday, May 21 Third Round (TBD)
Friday, May 22 Final Round (TBD)
Texas Lineup Avg. (Rounds)
Kristin Walla 76.97 (31)
Kelley Louth 75.94 (31)
Shannon Fish 76.03 (31)
Nicole Vandermade 74.94 (31)
Caney Hines 78.45 (31)
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com
Field:
1. Denver
2. UCLA
3. Arizona State
4. Alabama
5. Purdue
6. Southern California
7. Tennessee
8. Wake Forest
9. LSU
10. Virginia
11. Oklahoma State
12. TCU
13. Tulane
14. Michigan State
15. UC Irvine
16. Duke
17. New Mexico
18. TEXAS
19. North Carolina
20. Ohio State
21. Arizona
22. Georgia
23. UT Chattanooga
24. Pepperdine
