Women's golf goes West

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 16th-ranked University of Arkansas women’s golf team has been selected to participate in the 2009 NCAA West Regional Championship, the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee announced today. Three regional tournaments (East, West and Central) take place May 7-9, with the top eight teams from each site advancing to the NCAA Championships at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, M.D. The 2009 NCAA West Regional takes place at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz., with Arizona State serving as this year’s host. The other sites are Gainesville, Fla., where the University of Florida hosts the East Regional, and the Scarlet Golf Course with Ohio State hosting in Columbus, Ohio. “I’m actually really pleased with our selection to the West Regional,” said Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor. “I feel very good about it, and I think it’s a good fit for our golf team. I would think we’d be pretty much guaranteed some good weather. I’ve never played Karsten where this will be held but I’ve heard great things about the course and facilities. It’s open off the tee and sets up well for us. We’re going to go out with mindset to win the West Region and give ourselves some good momentum heading into the NCAA Championship.” The Razorbacks are the fifth seed in the West joining a talented field that includes host and second-ranked Arizona State, the winners of the Pacific-10 Conference title. The top five includes No. 4 Southern California, No. 8 Louisiana State, No. 13 Pepperdine and the 16th-ranked Razorbacks. In addition, Western Athletic Conference winner and 21st-ranked San Jose State, No. 22 Arizona, No. 20 California, No. 25 UC-Irvine, No. 27 San Francisco, No. 34 UNLV, No. 37 TCU, No. 41 Texas A&M, No. 43 Oregon, No. 47 and winner of the Big West Conference title Long Beach State, No. 45 Colorado, No. 39 Texas, No. 55 Baylor, No. 104 Southland Conference winner Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Big Sky winner and No. 108 Northern Arizona and No. 63 Summit League winner Oral Roberts are scheduled to play. “The team is fired up and ready to go,” said Estes-Taylor. “They’re out there now practicing in the rain and getting ready for the postseason.” This is Arkansas’ eighth appearance at the NCAA Regional Championships – their seventh consecutive. The program’s first appearance came in 2000 under the direction of then head coach Ulrika Belline. Former head coach Kelley Hester helped Arkansas return to the Regional Championships in 2003, beginning a string of appearances that Estes-Taylor continues again this year. Arkansas has appearance in one East Regional in 2000 when there were only two regional sites. The Razorbacks have taken part in four Central Regional Tournaments (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007) and two West Regionals (2006, 2008). For more information about Arkansas women’s golf, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Teams:1. Arizona State (Pacific-10 Conference)2. Southern California3. Louisiana State4. Pepperdine
5. Arkansas6. San Jose State (Western Athletic Conference)7. Arizona8. California9. UC Irvine10. San Francisco11. UNLV12. TCU13. Texas A&M14. Oregon15. Long Beach State (Big West Conference)16. Colorado17. Texas18. Baylor19. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland Conference)20. Northern Arizona (Big Sky Conference)21. Oral Roberts (The Summit League)Individuals:1. Miki Ueoka, Santa Clara2. Chelsea Stelzmiller, UC Davis3. Alice Kim, UC Davis