Women's Golf Team Earns NCAA Bid
4/30/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 30, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland received an invitation to the NCAA Central Regional women's golf tournament as part of the Division I selections announced Monday by the NCAA.
The Central Regional will be held May 10 through 12 at the University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich. The low eight teams and two individuals not on those teams will qualify for the NCAA Division I Nationals, to be held May 22-25 at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.
There will be 21 teams in the Central Regional and Maryland earned the 16th seed in the field. The Terrapins are the only team from the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Central Regional.
Maryland will be making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is remarkable given that this is the eighth season the program has been in existence.
"It's an annual goal for us to make the NCAAs," said head coach Jason Rodenhaver, who has coached the Terrapins in all eight seasons. "Now we know the first time wasn't a fluke. It's like being on the PGA Tour. If you win once, that's great, but you've got to win again to get some validation that you can do it consistently.
"Considering the weather we had this spring, this is a great accomplishment," said Rodenhaver. "We toughed it out. We played well down the stretch. After playing poorly at Pinehurst (a 10th-place finish), we won two of the next three tournaments to put ourselves in this position."
Maryland will have an extra advantage of having seen the course before. The regional will be held on the same Michigan course where the Terrapins played in October 2005. The Terrapins finished third in a seven-team field in that event, but Kate Stepanek won medalist honors in that tournament with a 3-over-par total of 219.
"Everybody is checking their notes about that course and we'll talk about it as we prepare," said Rodenhaver. "I think it's to our benefit to have been there before."
Familiarity is a key word for the Maryland women's golf program. The Terrapins have started the same fivesome in 32 consecutive events, a string dating back to the opening tournament of the 2004-05 season.
Junior Kelly Calkin has led the Terrapins in scoring average throughout the year, now carrying a 75.1 average into the NCAAs.
NCAA Central Regional Field (in seeding order)
1. Georgia, 2. Vanderbilt, 3. Southern California, 4. Tennessee, 5. Arizona, 6. Michigan State, 7. Texas Christian, 8. Baylor, 9. Arkansas, 10. Kent State, 11. Ohio State, 12. Northwestern, 13. Michigan, 14. Missouri, 15. Southern Methodist, 16. MARYLAND, 17. Indiana, 18. UNC Wilmington, 19. Oral Roberts, 20. Southern Illinois, 21. St. Francis, Pa.
Players Mentioned
