Arkansas Golf Fact Sheet #12

Arkansas Golf Fact Sheet #12 – NCAA Central Region ChampionshipNCAA Regional ChampionshipThe University of Arkansas golf team makes its fifth consecutive and sixth ever trip to the NCAA Regional Championship May 10-12. Arkansas has finished eighth in its last two regional appearances advancing to the NCAA Championship in 2005 and 2006.
Michigan hosts the CentralMichigan is one of three schools hosting an NCAA Regional next week. LSU hosts the East Regional while BYU hosts the West. This is the second time the Wolverines have hosted a regional and the first time that Arkansas has competed on this course in the history of the program.
The Central FieldThe 2007 NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regional Championships features 21 teams and three individuals. Teams (in seeding order) include: 1. Georgia, 2. Vanderbilt, 3. Southern Cal, 4. Tennessee, 5. Arizona, 6. Michigan State, 7. Texas Christian, 8. Baylor, 9. Arkansas, 10. Kent State, 11. Ohio State, 12. Northwestern, 13. Michigan, 14. Missouri, 15. Southern Methodist, 16. Maryland, 17. Indiana, 18. North Carolina-Wilmington, 19. Oral Roberts, 20. Southern Illinois, 21. St. Francis (Pa.). The individuals are: 1. Gerina Mendoza, Texas-El Paso; 2. Sara Wikstrom, Arkansas-Little Rock; 3. Noriko Nakasaki, Notre Dame.
Who’s making the trip?Arkansas is beginning to settle into a lineup. Although the fifth spot has been a revolving door at times for the Lady’Backs, this lineup will likely guide the team into the postseason. Making this trip is junior Stacy Lewis, sophomore Lucy Nunn, and freshmen Krsitin Ingram, Corinna Rees and Alex Schulte. Lewis and Nunn have made all 10 trips this year while Schulte has made nine. Ingram, who joined the team at semester, has made all five trips since her arrival and Rees has also made five trips
Championships InformationThe University of Michigan will play host to the 2007 NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regional Championships, Thursday through Saturday, May 10-12, at the U-M Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich. The competitors will play 54 holes (18 each day) on the par-71, 6,116-yard U-M Golf Course.
FormatThe 2007 NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regional Championships will be 54 holes of championship play. Scoring will be five players, count the low four scores each round.
ScheduleThe NCAA Central Regional will be 54 holes of stroke-play competition with 18 holes each day. First- and second-day pairings will be determined by seedings. Final-day pairings will be determined by team totals from the previous rounds.Wednesday, May 9 Practice Round Throughout the day Thursday, May 10 First Round 8 a.m. EDT Friday, May 11 Second Round 8 a.m. EDT Saturday, May 12 Final Round 8 a.m. EDT
Qualification for NationalsThe low eight teams at the Central Regional and the low two individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held May 22-25 at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The SEC is well-representedThe Southeastern Conference is well represented in the 2007 NCAA Regional Championships. Arkansas is one of four SEC teams scheduled to compete in the Central Region. They are joined by Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee in Ann Arbor. Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina and LSU are all competing in the East Regional hosted by the Tigers of LSU and Florida will compete in the West Regional bringing the total to nine of the 12 SEC members.
We meet againArkansas has faced many of the Central Region teams this year. In fact, the Lady’Backs have faced 15 of the 21 teams in the field. Those teams include Georgia (1-6), Vanderbilt (0-5), Baylor (0-3), Tennessee (0-3), Arizona (0-2), TCU (0-2), Southern California (0-1), ORU (1-0), Ohio State (1-0), Missouri (2-0), Michigan (1-1), SMU (5-0), Kent State (2-0), Michigan State (2-1) and Northwestern (2-0).
About the golf course (mgoblue.com)Michigan’s varsity golf teams compete and practice at one of the finest university-owned courses in the country, the University of Michigan Golf Course. The challenging fairways and greens lie among stately trees, plush rough and hills that offer a breathtaking view of the University’s main campus. The University of Michigan Golf Course was designed in the late 1920s by Alister MacKenzie, one of golf’s all-time greatest architects. The Regents unofficially opened the course in the fall of 1930 as the first golfers to play the new U-M Golf Course. The course officially opened in the spring of 1931 and immediately drew praise as one of the finest in America. At the time of its opening, the University Golf Course became just the fourth course to be located on a college campus. The U-M Golf Course is one of only six MacKenzie-designed golf courses in the United States, including the famed Augusta National.
Arkansas in the practice roundThe Lady Razorbacks, along with all of the other teams in the regional, have a practice round of Thursday. Arkansas’ five tees off at 9:46 a.m. from the first hole. This practice round will be the team’s only look at the golf course prior to competition.
The first roundArkansas tees off at 8:00 a.m (7:00 a.m. Central) on Thursday, May 10. The Lady’Backs are paired with seventh seed TCU and eighth seed Baylor in the first round. The Lady’Backs also go off the first tee in the opening round.
Lewis struggles with injuryArkansas junior Stacy Lewis pulled out of the second round of the 2007 SEC Golf Championship after suffering a back injury. Lewis, who battles chronic back pain, had to pull out after one hole in the second round. She was unable to play in the final round Sunday. She has been improving with treatment following the SEC Championship but is listed as day-to-day.
Lewis in the rankingsArkansas junior Stacy Lewis ranks ninth in the country for average score this week. Lewis is averaging 72.79 trailing the country’s top player, Amanda Blumenherst of Duke who leads the nation with a 71.08 average. Lewis ranks 12th compared to par with a 1.11 mark, tied for 20th for low round with a 67, 58th in first round scoring average with a 75.60, tied for fifth for last round scoring average with a 71.56, 36th for par three scoring with a 3.12, seventh in par four scoring with a 4.09 and 40th in par five scoring with a 4.93.
Regional Review (See pages 6-7)Arkansas has competed in five regionals in the history of the program. The Lady’Backs competed in the East Regional under head coach Ulrika Belline in the program’s first appearance in 2000. There were only two regional sites (East and West) at that time. Head coach Kelley Hester arrived at Arkansas in 2003 and the Lady’Backs have been a regular at the Regional Championships ever since. In Hester’s first year, Arkansas finished 15th in a rain-drenched Central Regional in Lincoln, Neb. Heavy rains, sleet and in-your-face winds made conditions some of the worst they could be. Arkansas was again selected to the Central Regional in 2004 this time traveling to Bloomington, Ill., where the team finished 16th overall. The Lady Razorbacks next traveled to Lubbock, Texas, for the 2005 Central Regional finishing in that all-important eighth spot to earn the program’s first NCAA Championship appearance. The Lady’Backs were one of the top 15 teams in the country the following year and were sent to the West Regional in Auburn, Wash., again finishing eighth to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
What are we playing for?A trip to the NCAA Championship of course. A total of 324 participants have been selected for the 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 22-25 at the LPGA International Legends Course, Daytona Beach, Florida, hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Central Florida Sports Commission.