April 27, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. –

The University of Kentucky women’s golf team was selected to the 28th-Annual Division I Women’s Golf NCAA Tournament. No. 44 Kentucky will make its 15th postseason appearance in school history and its first since 2000.

The Wildcats will travel to the Central Region at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by Ohio State University. The team will face a competitive field including No. 1 UCLA.

 “I am very pleased that we were selected to play in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Myra Blackwelder said. “We will make the trip to Ohio State next Tuesday and spend the day chipping, putting and working on the range. We will play a full practice round on Wednesday.

“The Scarlet Golf Course at Ohio State is a great test of golf, and we are looking forward to playing a venue that is rich in history. The course was designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie and underwent a major restoration by Jack Nicklaus that was completed in 2006.”

Three regional tournaments will be conducted May 7-9 to determine the championship field. Regional tournaments are considered preliminary rounds of NCAA Championship competition.

A total of 324 participants were selected for regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each regional.

Georgetown University will host the NCAA Championship in Owings Mills, Md., at the Caves Valley Golf Club on May 19-22.

Kentucky notched seven top-10 finishes, including the Lady Mocs Intercollegiate title. In the final round of the LSU Classic, the Wildcats carded a season-low 288, a mere t
wo strokes away from the all-time school record of 286 which was set at Florida State.
 

Central Regional

Teams:

1.      UCLA

2.      Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)

3.      Purdue (Big Ten Conference)

4.      Wake Forest (Atlantic Coast Conference)

5.      Louisville (Big East Conference)

6.      Kent State (Mid-American Conference)

7.      Michigan State

8.      Ohio State

9.      Stanford

10.    New Mexico (Mountain West Conference)

11.    Georgia State (Colonial Athletic Association)

12.    Notre Dame

13.    North Carolina State

14.    Washington

15.    Kentucky

16.    Chattanooga

17.    Michigan

18.    Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference)             

19.    Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference)

20.    Harvard (Ivy Group)

21.    Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast Conference)        

Individuals:

1.      Kendall Dye, Oklahoma

2.      Kayla Mortellaro,  Idaho

3.      Sara Wikstrom, Arkansas, Little Rock