April 26, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team will play in the NCAA Central Regional on May 6-8 in Columbus, Ind., it was announced by the NCAA selection committee on Monday afternoon. Each of the three days will consist of one 18-hole round of play at the Otter Creek Golf Club. With a top-eight finish at the Central Regional, which is being hosted by Indiana University, the Irish would advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history.
All told, seventy-two teams and nine individuals have been selected to play at three regional sites for the right to advance to the national championship. In addition to Otter Creek, the other two 2010 regional sites include the Ironwood Country Club (East Regional hosted by East Carolina) and the Stanford Golf Course (West Regional hosted by Stanford University).
The eight lowest scoring teams, as well as the two lowest scoring individuals not on an advancing team from each of the three regional sites will qualify for the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. The 2010 championship will be held May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.
2010 marks Notre Dame’s fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Irish have now been selected to participate in three consecutive NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history.
In 2004 and 2005 the Irish received at-large berths to the Central Regional both of those years, finishing 17th and 18th, respectively. Noriko Nakazaki played individually in the 2007 Central Regional. Then, in 2008 Notre Dame received an automatic bid by virtue of winning the 2008 BIG EAST Championship. The Irish went on to finish 16th at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas.
Last season, the Irish received and at large bid to the Central Regional, which was played in Columbus, Ohio. The team finished 16th for the second consecutive year and current sophomore Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) was Notre Dame’s best finisher as she placed in a tie for 27th.
For more information on the 2010 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, log onto ncaasports.com. To stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame women’s golf team as the NCAA tournament approaches, visit und.com.
Central Regional
Teams:1. Arizona State2. USC3. Purdue4. Michigan State5. Oregon6. Denver7. New Mexico8. Florida State9. Oklahoma State10. Louisville11. Oregon12. Kent State13. Northwestern14. Notre Dame15. Mississippi16. San Diego State17. Baylor18. Tulsa19. NC State20. Indiana21. Illinois State22. Murray State23. Delaware24. Jackson State
Individuals:1. Ashley Bauer, Michigan2. Lansing Olivia, Drake3. Julia Potter, Missouri
–ND–