Golf Headed To Third-Straight NCAA Regional
April 26, 2010 | Women's Golf
April 26, 2010
East Regional Championship Central l NCAA Championship Central
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's golf team is one of 24 teams headed to the East Regional the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Committee announced Monday afternoon.
The Lady Pirates, who earned their third straight at-large bid, were chosen as the No. 20 seed in the East Regional, which will be held at the Ironwood Country Club in Greenville, N.C. May 6-8.
The East Regional is one of three regional tournaments which will be held 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 369 participants have been selected for the regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. and will be hosted by UNC-Wilmington. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each region.
The Lady Pirates (102-64-1), in just its 10th year of existence, will make their sixth team appearance in the NCAA Championships. During the 2002-03 season, ECU garnered a No. 12 seed in the East Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C. finishing tied for 14th. The Pirates were a 15 seed during the 2004-05 campaign in Gainesville, Fla. finishing in 17th and last year they were tabbed No. 13 in the East Regional in Athens, Ga. where they finished 12th.
Former Pirate Adrienne Millican participated in the NCAA Championships as an individual in 2004 placing in a tie for 34th out of 126 golfers, while Lene Krog represented the Pirates at the championships as an individual in 2007 before withdrawing due to an injury after 36 holes.
After claiming its first Conference USA Championship in the spring of 2006, the Pirates earned an automatic bid to the East Regional heading to Greensboro, N.C. as the No. 20 seed and finished tied for 19th. The following year the Pirates returned as a team with a No. 13 ranking in the East Regional where they finished 12th of 19 teams in Athens, Ga.
Last year ECU narrowly missed making its first ever NCAA Championship appearance, falling two strokes out of eighth place in Gainesville, Fla.
The selection to the 2009-10 Regional marks the first time ECU has received three-consecutive at-large bids and it's the eighth straight season where the Pirates will be represented in the NCAA Regionals.
"I'm really proud of the way we played down the stretch this season," said Head Coach Kevin Williams. "The fight and determination they have shown the last two weeks in the Conference USA Championships and by picking up a pair of wins against two top-30 programs, shows that we can compete and belong in post-season play."
ECU is set to tee off Thursday, May 8 in the afternoon and will be paired up with Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston from the first tee starting at 1:25 p.m. (EDT).
East Regional
The East regional will be played May 6-8 at Ironwood Country Club, Greenville, N.C. hosted by East Carolina University. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.
Teams:
1. Duke
2. Auburn
3. Wake Forest (Atlantic Coast Conference)
4. Pepperdine
5. Vanderbilt
6. Tennessee
7. Florida
8. TCU
9. North Carolina
10. South Carolina
11. Tulane (Conference USA)
12. Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
13. Washington
14. Texas Tech
15. Georgia State (Colonial Athletic Conference)
16. Campbell
17. East Tennessee State
18. Furman
19. Coastal Carolina
20. East Carolina
21. College of Charleston
22. Stetson (Atlantic Sun Conference)
23. Charleston Southern (Big South Conference)
24. Farleigh Dickinson (Northeast Conference)
Individuals:
1. Sofia Hagsund, North Carolina-Wilmington
2. Sheena Yang, South Florida
3. Nicole Sakamoto, James Madison
