Women's Golf Selected To NCAA Regionals For First Time Since 2006
April 30, 2012
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State women's golf team earned an invitation to the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Regionals on Monday. The Beavers are one of 72 teams to receive a bid and will compete in the West Regional in Erie, Colo., May 10-12.
This marks Oregon State's 11th appearance in the NCAA Regionals, all under the leadership of 24th-year head coach Risë Alexander, and first since the 2005-06 season when the Beavers finished in 13th place in the 21-team field that competed at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash.
"It has been a long time since we last made it," Alexander said. "I know the girls are very excited about going and committed to working hard next week to prepare ourselves for the golf course in Colorado. We are going to start new right now and make this a one-tournament season with the hopes to turn it into a two-tournament season."
Three regional tournaments (West, Central, East) with 24 teams and six individuals in each were announced on Monday and the top eight teams and two individuals from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships May 22-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
The Beavers are the No. 18 seed in the West Regional and the 54-hole event will be played at the Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colo., with the University of Colorado serving as host.
"There are a lot of emotions going on right now -- excited, happy and finally getting over the nerves to see if we would make it," Oregon State assistant coach Kailin Downs said. "There was so much buildup over the past couple of months trying to stay in position we needed to be in order to be selected. After six years (of not making it), it definitely feels great and is very exciting to be going back. We feel that we deserve it and have worked hard all season to get to this point."
With a mix of veterans and newcomers, Oregon State has enjoyed one of its best seasons in history with four top-5 and six top-10 finishes in their 11 tournaments. The Beavers shot a school-record 2-under 282 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate in Stanford Calif., and equaled their second-best round in school history with an even-par 288 in the final round of the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Alexander and Downs have gone with a consistent lineup the past seven tournaments with senior Whitney French, junior Rachael Fischer, sophomores Lauren Sewell and Seshia Telles and freshman Anica Yoo leading the way.
"This is very exciting for me, especially because this is my last year," French said. "We as a team didn't want to end the season on the note that we did at the Pac-12 Championship. This gives us another chance to showcase what we can do. I am very excited for this opportunity that we get another shot because now it is anyone's game."
"I felt really happy because we were one of the last schools to be called on the selection show, which made it very stressful," Sewell said. "My heart was beating super fast and I didn't know if we were going to get picked."
"I am very overwhelmed right now just because I didn't know what to expect throughout the entire day," Telles said. "I am looking at regionals as a clean slate and a chance to start over. We have a week to prepare for this and I know that we all have a couple of things as individuals that we need to work on."
"I was waiting for this moment all day and I was so nervous about it," Yoo said. "I didn't know how big of a deal postseason meant to this team and Oregon State because of the history the golf team has had with regionals. I am just very excited and honored to help contribute to this team as we make history after so many years and represent Beaver Nation at regionals next week."
Oregon State advanced to the NCAA Regionals nine times in 10 years between 1994 and 2003 (missed in 2002) and had its last invitation in 2006 after a two-year absence in 2004 and 2005. The Beavers tied for 10th place at the 1998 regionals when they made their only trip to the NCAA Championships in school history.
WEST REGIONAL: Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colo.
1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. North Carolina
4. Colorado
5. California
6. Baylor
7. Pepperdine
8. UC Davis
9. Oklahoma
10. Texas Tech
11. Tulsa
12. TCU
13. Iowa State
14. Stanford
15. Denver
16. UNLV
17. New Mexico
18. Oregon State
19. Illinois
20. Kennesaw State
21. San Jose State
22. Missouri State
23. Northern Colorado
24. Jackson State
CENTRAL REGIONAL: Ohio State Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio
1. USC
2. Auburn
3. Georgia
4. Vanderbilt
5. Tennessee
6. Ohio State
7. Oregon
8. North Carolina State
9. Virginia
10. Florida State
11. Purdue
12. Arkansas
13. Ole Miss
14. Kentucky
15. Texas State
16. South Florida
17. Notre Dame
18. UTSA
19. East Carolina
20. Michigan
21. UNC Wilmington
22. Harvard
23. Butler
24. Siena
EAST REGIONAL: Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pa.
1. Alabama
2. Arizona State
3. Duke
4. Texas A&M
5. Florida
6. Arizona
7. Oklahoma State
8. South Carolina
9. Michigan State
10. Washington
11. Texas
12. Tulane
13. UCF
14. Wake Forest
15. Northwestern
16. San Diego State
17. Kent State
18. Maryland
19. Augusta State
20. Campbell
21. Chattanooga
22. Oral Roberts
23. Jacksonville State
24. LIU Brooklyn
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