April 25, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's golf team earned its second consecutive NCAA regional bid, as the Aztecs are one of 72 schools that will compete at one of three tournament sites, May 5-7, the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Committee announced Monday afternoon. SDSU, which is making back-to-back trips to the NCAA regionals for the first time in program history, is seeded No. 16 among the 24 teams headed to the west regional in Auburn, Wash., at Washington National Golf Course.
"We'll see a tough field in Washington, although any regional site is going to be tough," said second-year Aztec head coach Emilee Klein. "If we just put together three good rounds of golf, we have a very good chance of moving on.
"The team has been excited for this and has shown a lot of heart and desire. We've had some really good practices and they've been putting in extra time to get ready (for the NCAA tournament)."
SDSU is one of four Mountain West Conference schools that will be represented in the Pacific Northwest next week, as Brigham Young, New Mexico and Colorado State's Brianna Espinoza will also make the trip. Fellow league member UNLV made the field in the central regional in Notre Dame, Ind., and conference champion TCU heads to the east regional in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Aztecs will play 18 holes each of the three days with a practice round on Wednesday. SDSU will be paired with BYU and New Mexico for the first two rounds, teeing off Thursday from the 10th hole at 12:30 p.m. PT and beginning from the first hole at 8 a.m. on Friday. The top eight squads and the low two individuals not on those teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA national championships at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, May 17-20.
San Diego State made its first NCAA regional appearance since 2004 last season, when the Aztecs played in Columbus, Ind., finishing 13th. This is the program's fifth trip to regionals and it marks the eighth time SDSU has sent at least one golfer to the regional round since it first began in 1993. The Aztecs will be seeking their first-ever trip as a team to the national championships.
The Aztecs are currently ranked 49th nationally by golfstat.com and are 45th in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings. SDSU has won one tournament, the 12-team Gold Rush in Yorba Linda, Calif., in mid-February, and has placed in the top five in three other events.
Live scoring will be available for all three days on goaztecs.com, as well as golfstat.com.
2011 NCAA Women's Golf Championships
West Regional - University of Washington, host
Washington National Golf Club - Auburn, Wash. - May 5-7
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,266
Holes: 54
Dates: May 5-7
The Field (24 teams - in order of seed): USC, Virginia, Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, Pepperdine, Iowa State, UC Davis, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Tulsa, Denver, San Diego State, BYU, New Mexico, UTSA, Portland, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Oral Roberts, UTEP
Individuals (6 - in order of seed): Kayla Mortellaro, Idaho; Teo Poplawski, Idaho; Amy Anderson, North Dakota State; Brianna Espinoza, Colorado State; Jessica Hollandsworth, Maryland; Chelsey Cothran, Baylor.