May 8, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team will begin the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship Thursday morning at the East Regional held in Auburn, Ala. The 24-team regional will be held from May 10-12 at the Auburn University Club, a par-72, 7,326-yard layout.
The Wildcats lineup will feature seniors Ashleigh Albrecht and Betsie Johnson, junior Liz Breed and freshmen Cylia Damerau and Sarah Harris.
“We are ready to get the East Regional Championship going here in Auburn, Ala.,” head coach Golda Johannson Borst said. “It’s been exciting to prepare for this championship and we are looking forward to a great week.”
The 24-team regional features six Southeastern Conference teams, including 2013 SEC Champion and defending national champion Alabama. Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss and Tennessee will also represent the league in the East Regional. Along with Alabama, the field boasts 11 conference champions, including Oklahoma State, Tulane, Notre Dame, Northwestern, FIU, East Tennessee State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, James Madison, Eastern Kentucky and Alabama State. The remainder of the field consists of UCLA, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Texas State, Central Florida, Penn State and East Carolina.
Entering its third consecutive appearance in an NCAA Regional, UK is coming off one of its best performances in school history, finishing tied for fifth at the 2013 SEC Championships. It was the Wildcats best showing at the conference tournament in 20 years as the Cats were led by Harris, who recorded a career-best finish, placing second individually at 9-over-par. Breed as also impressive for UK, charted a career-high finish as well, tying for sixth place at 11-over-par.
Borst has taken Kentucky to new heights in each of her first three years, including an NCAA appearance every year under her direction. The Wildcats are having arguably their best season in program history heading into the East Regional with a team stroke average of 301.3, currently ahead of last year’s record of 304.73. Earlier this season, the Cats set a school record by carding a 6-under-par, 282 in the final round of the Alamo Invitational, breaking the previous team-low round of 284.
Albrecht finished the regular season leading the team in stroke average at 74.96 per round, which currently ranks first all-time in program history and is .38 ahead of Mallory Blackwelder’s mark of 75.34 set during the 2007-08 season. Albrecht has seven par or better rounds on the year, which ranks second all-time and is just one par or better round from tying her record of eight in the 2010-11 campaign. Her 25 career par or better rounds is atop the UK record books.
Kentucky will be the first to tee off from hole No. 10 as Damerau will get things started for UK at 8:30 a.m. ET. The rest of the Wildcats will tee off following Damerau in 11 minute intervals beginning with Johnson, Albrecht, Breed and Harris, who will be the final UK member to tee off at 9:14 a.m.
The NCAA Women’s Golf Championship is made up of three regionals that each consist of 24 teams and six individuals. The two other 2013 regional sites include the Central Regional at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla., and the West Regional at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.
The three regional sites are preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championship. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each regional to participate in the championship’s finals at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga., May 21-24.
Follow the East Regional of the 2013 NCAA Championship with live scoring on Golfstat.com. For more information on the University of Kentucky women’s golf team please visit UKathletics.com.
2013 NCAA Championship – East Regional
May 9-11, Auburn, Ala.
Auburn University Club
Kentucky Lineup:
Sarah Harris
Liz Breed
Ashleigh Albrecht
Betsie Johnson
Cylia Damerau
Teams:
1. Alabama (SEC)
2. Arkansas
3. UCLA
4. North Carolina
5. Virginia
6. Oklahoma State (Big 12)
7. Tulane (Conference USA)
8. Texas
9. Notre Dame (Big East)
10. Northwestern (Big Ten)
11. Tennessee
12. Kentucky
13. Texas State
14. Auburn
15. Central Florida
16. Penn State
17. East Carolina
18. FIU (Sun Belt)
19. Ole Miss
20. East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun)
21. Tennessee-Chattanooga (Southern Conference)
22. James Madison (Colonial Athletic Association)
23. Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley)
24. Alabama State (Southwestern Athletic)
Individuals:
1. Natalie Wille, Augusta State
2. Kelly Shon, Princeton
3. Casey Kennedy, Augusta State
4. Isabel Southard, Boston College
5. Shu-Yin Liu, Tulsa
6. Kristina Merkle, Tulsa
