April 30, 2002
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 10th-ranked Arizona State women's golf team has earned a bid to the NCAA Women's Golf West Regional Championships, which will be held May 9-11 at the par 72, 6,168-yard Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. The selection marks Arizona State's 10th consecutive invitation in 10 years of NCAA regional action.
The Sun Devils head into the NCAA West Regional after turning in top five finishes in each of their last four events, including a tie for third place and an individual title for sophomore Jimin Kang at last week's Pac-10 Championships. ASU is the No. 2 seed in the West Regional behind Pac-10 automatic qualifier Arizona.
Last year, Arizona State finished sixth at the NCAA West Regional, which was held at the Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis, Ore., while Kang was the team's top finisher with a third-place showing. The Sun Devils have won an NCAA Regional three times with their last title coming in 1997. Miriam Nagl was the last Sun Devil to win an individual title at an NCAA Regional, winning the 2000 West Regional in Tempe en route to being named National Golf Coaches Association Freshman of the Year.
Twenty-one teams and three individuals have qualified for each regional with the NCAA East Regional being held at University Club in Baton Rouge, La. (Louisiana State University, host) and the Central Regional being held Forest Akers Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich. (Michigan State University, host).
Eight Pac-10 teams have qualified for the NCAA West Regional and account for the top six seeds and six of the top eight in that region (No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 ASU, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Washington, No. 5 California, No. 6 USC and No. 8 Stanford). Washington State is the 18th seed, while a ninth Pac-10 school, Oregon, will also be represented at the West Regional by individual qualifier, Kathy Cho.
The top eight teams and two individuals from each region will qualify for the NCAA Championships to be held May 21-24 at the Washington National Golf Course in Auburn, Wash.
2002 NCAA Women's Golf West Regional Information
Date: May 9-11, 2002
Course: Stanford Golf Course (par 72, 6,168 yards)
Location: Stanford, Calif.
Participating Schools (21): Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington, California, Southern California, Pepperdine, Stanford, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Idaho, San Francisco, San Jose State, UC Irvine, Denver, BYU, Colorado State, Washington State, Campbell, Oral Roberts, Northern Arizona.
Participating Individuals (3): Erin Kerr, Colorado; Sarah Walter, Portland; Kathy Cho, Oregon.
Tee Times: The first, second and final rounds will begin at 7:30 a.m. each morning from the first and 10th tees. Pairings and tee times for the first two rounds will be based on seed.
Other Regional Sites: East Regional (Baton Rouge, LA - host LSU); Central Regional (East Lansing, MI - host Michigan State)
2001 NCAA West Regional Winner: University of Arizona
2001 NCAA West Regional Individual Winner: Natalie Gulbis, Arizona