University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Plays for trip to NCAA Championship
May 07, 2008 | Women's Golf
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ATHENS, Ga. ??? The 16th-ranked Lady Vol golf team will compete for a trip to the 2008 NCAA Championship Tournament, by taking on 20 other teams in the NCAA East Regional this weekend. The tournament will be held at the par-72, 6,335-yard University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. Head coach Judi Pavon is bringing a new line-up in senior Marci Turner, sophomores Diana Cant?? and Ginny Brown, freshman Rebecca Watson and junior Nicole Smith.Watson took Smith???s spot at the Southeastern Conference Championship last month and will be filling in this weekend for Angela Oh. Oh left the team after the SEC tournament with the intention of turning professional.
???This group has worked very hard over the past couple of weeks,??? Pavon said. ???Nicole did a good job of coming back from an injury and the other four are at the top of their games this season. Whether they can bring that over to competition is yet to be seen, but I have confidence they will play their best.???
In order to qualify for the NCAA Championship, the Lady Vols will have to finish in the top eight this weekend. Last year, the squad finished seventh in the Central Regional in Ann Arbor, Mich., earning a chance to compete in its fourth consecutive, and seventh overall, national championship. This year???s NCAA Tournament will be held at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M., May 20-23.
The 54-hole event will be held over three days, beginning on Thursday, May 8. The morning wave will start at 8 a.m. each morning, while the afternoon wave is slated for a 12:30 p.m. start. For the first round, Tennessee, Auburn and Wake Forest will tee off beginning at 9 a.m. from No. 10. The same group will start on the first hole at 1:20 p.m. on Friday. Tee times for the final round on Saturday will be based on placements.
2008 East Regional Field with Golf World/NGCA Top-25 Rankings
1. Duke
5. Florida
7. Georgia
9. Auburn
15. Wake Forest
16. TENNESSEE
21. New Mexico
23. Virginia
nr. Charleston Southern
nr. East Carolina
nr. Furman
nr. Georgia State
nr. Indiana
nr. Jackson State
nr. Jacksonville State
nr. Louisville
nr. Missouri
nr. South Carolina
nr. UCF
nr. UNC-Wilmington
nr. Vanderbilt
