College Golf | ‘Horns secure berth to nationals

‘Horns secure berth to nationals

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By SEAN MARTIN
Assistant Editor

When Golfweek released its first list of coaches’ salaries last September, new Texas coach Martha Richards was the top earner in the women’s game at $140,000.

She proved she was worth every penny Saturday, as her Longhorns finished seventh at the NCAA Central Regional at the University of Texas Golf Club to advance to the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship for the first time since 2004. The Longhorns have risen from 85th to 23rd in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings in Richards’ first year in Austin.

“For me personally, it’s exciting because it shows me my formula is still working,” Richards said. “I’ve learned a lot. I think I’ve grown a lot of as a coach. It means a lot, mostly because it’s important to me that they have a great college experience, and part of that is playing in NCAAs.

“I wanted this group to be a part of putting Texas back in the mix.”

Ashley Rollins, who competed in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open, also joined the Longhorns this year for her final season of college golf. Rollins, No. 35 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, now gets to return to where her career began – the University of New Mexico, which is hosting this year’s NCAA Championship May 20-23. Richards said Rollins has the course record with a 65 at the UNM Championship Course.

“We really wanted to get Ashley back to New Mexico,” Richards said. “She’s done such a great job of helping us this year, and we wanted to help her finish her career on a course she loves.”

• • •

CLOSING OUT IN STYLE: Sarah Zwartynski’s 50-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the NCAA Central Regional was nothing more than icing on the cake.

Zwartynski and her Texas A&M teammates had been living on the cut line all week, but by the time their star freshman got to the final hole, an NCAA Championship berth had already easily been secured thanks to a record-setting round.

The Aggies started competition at the University of Texas Golf Club as the No. 8 seed, predicted to be the final team to advance to the finals.; they were sixth after each of the first two rounds. Instead of succumbing to the pressure, the No. 19 Aggies closed with the second-best round of the day, an even-par 288, to finish fifth at 21-over 885 and easily advance to Albuquerque, N.M.

“We really were not even thinking about our position,” Zwartynski said. “I never really felt any pressure today. The birdie putt on 18 kind of put on an exclamation point on our day. Everybody was cheering and it felt awesome.”

The long putt helped Zwartynski to her third consecutive top-10 finish, including a fourth-place showing at the Big 12 Championship. She closed with 69 this week to finish T-7 at even-par 216.

“Sarah has come through in the clutch for us so many times this year,” first-year coach Trelle McCombs said. “She came in as a good player last fall and has become a great player. She'll be fun to watch for the next three years.”

McCombs took over for three-time Big 12 coach of the year Jeanne Sutherland, who retired last year after the Aggies claimed the conference championship but collapsed in the final round of the East Regional to miss the NCAA Championship. The Aggies also lost 2007 Big 12 player of the year Ashley Knoll from last year’s team.

“I tell you what, it’s really sweet because so many people had doubted us from the beginning,” McCombs said. “The sweet thing was proving people wrong, that we could not only make the postseason, but make it to nationals.”

Four Aggies shot sub-par rounds this week, including a second-round 71 by sixth-year senior Miranda Orr, who missed the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons while recovering from shoulder surgery. Orr earned her master’s degree in real estate, and would’ve walked Saturday if she hadn’t been playing in the regional.

The team held a makeshift graduation ceremony for her at their post-round dinner. McCombs made a diploma by rolling up a piece of paper and tying it together with a lanyard, while the team made Orr a cap out of napkins and serenaded her with “Pomp and Circumstance.”

“It’s unbelievable,” said Orr, who was participating in her first postseason. “It’s great to finally feel like I’m playing well and contributing to the team.”

• • •

CHALLENGE MET: UCLA head coach Carrie Forsyth said before the tournament that she relished the challenge of being shipped to the Central Regional. The Bruins, No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, shot the day’s low score in all three rounds to finish at 3-under 861 to win by 10 shots over No. 6 Purdue.

UCLA freshman Maria Jose Uribe, the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, shot a final-round 70 to finish tied for first with Purdue’s Maria Hernandez (69).

• • •

COUNT IT: LSU senior Alexis Rather’s 84 Saturday may not have counted toward the team total, but she still came up big for the Tigers. Rather’s chip-in was the only birdie on the first hole of a playoff between LSU and Florida State for the final berth in the NCAA Championship, and helped LSU win the sudden-death affair.

Florida State’s failure to advance means Caroline Westrup will advance to the NCAA Championship as an individual for a second consecutive year.

Two teams seeded outside the top eight – North Carolina State and Nebraska – missed the playoff by a shot. The 13th-seeded Wolfpack played the back nine 1 under par, but their rally fell short. Nebraska, the No. 17 seed, played its final hole 1 over with a birdie, two pars and a double bogey.

Had Florida State won the playoff, Coastal Carolina’s Araceli Felgueroso would’ve advanced to the finals as an individual. At No. 184 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, Felgueroso was the lowest-ranked individual to earn an invitation to the postseason. She finished T-10 in the Central Regional despite a final-round 77.

Scores with relation to par from the final round of the NCAA Women's Central Regional, played May 10 at the par-72, 6,301-yard the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas. (Note: x-advanced to NCAA Championship in playoff; y-playing as an individual; z-advanced to NCAA Championship as an individual):

TEAMS
1. UCLA	283-293-285--861		-3
2. Purdue	288-294-289--871	+	7
3. Denver	292-298-292--882	+	18
4. TCU	285-300-299--884	+	20
5. Texas A&M	295-302-288--885	+	21
6. Alabama	304-293-299--896	+	32
7. Texas	299-297-303--899	+	35
8. x-LSU	300-302-300--902	+	38
• • •
FAILED TO ADVANCE
8. Florida State	298-307-297--902	+	38
10. North Carolina St.	300-304-299--903	+	39
10. Nebraska	294-306-303--903	+	39
12. Pepperdine	304-308-299--911	+	47
13. Texas Tech	307-299-310--916	+	52
14. Kent St.	305-299-315--919	+	55
15. East Tennessee St.	307-302-311--920	+	56
16. Notre Dame	302-318-305--925	+	61
17. Washington	312-310-310--932	+	68
18. Texas St.	301-315-317--933	+	69
19. Harvard	314-310-313--937	+	73
20. Illinois St.	313-320-322--955	+	91
21. Fairleigh Dickinson	354-341-338--1033	+	169
• • •
INDIVIDUALS
1. Maria Hernandez, Purdue	66-73-69--208	+	-8
1. Maria Jose Uribe, UCLA	65-73-70--208	+	-8
3. Valentine Derrey, TCU	67-70-73--210	+	-6
4. Tiffany Joh, UCLA	73-70-68--211	+	-5
5. z-Lauren Doughtie, No. Carolina St.	69-73-73--215	+	-1
5. z-Caroline Westrup, Florida St.	70-73-72--215	+	-1
7. Sarah Zwartynski, Texas A&M	72-75-69--216	+	E
8. Christel Boeljon, Purdue	71-75-71--217	+	1
8. Allyson Ferguson, TCU	71-75-71--217	+	1
10. y-Aruka Felgueroso, C. Carolina	70-71-77--218	+	2
10. Camilla Lennarth, Alabama	73-74-71--218	+	2
10. Maiya Tanaka, UCLA	73-73-72--218	+	2
13. y-Steffi Kirchmayr, Charleston	71-70-78--219	+	3
14. Stephanie Derrey, No. Carolina St.	73-71-76--220	+	4
14. Megan McChrystal, Louisiana St.	73-73-74--220	+	4
14. Stephanie Sherlock, Denver	74-72-74--220	+	4
14. JC Stevenson, Nebraska	73-72-75--220	+	4
18. Danielle McVeigh, Texas A&M	71-78-72--221	+	5
19. Jayvie Agojo, Pepperdine	75-74-73--222	+	6
19. Chelsea Benton, Denver	76-77-69--222	+	6
19. Leanne Bowditch, Pepperdine	72-78-72--222	+	6
22. Elli Brown, Nebraska	72-79-72--223	+	7
22. Kirby Dreher, Kent St.	74-73-76--223	+	7
22. Shannon Fish, Texas	73-74-76--223	+	7
22. Caney Hines, Texas	76-75-72--223	+	7
22. Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Purdue	75-75-73--223	+	7
27. Martina Gavier, Kent St.	75-74-75--224	+	8
27. Linn Gustafsson, Texas St.	74-71-79--224	+	8
27. Dawn Shockley, Denver	74-75-75--224	+	8
30. Junthima Gulyanamitta, Purdue	78-71-76--225	+	9
30. Lisa Maunu, Notre Dame	73-78-74--225	+	9
30. Sydnee Michaels, UCLA	72-77-76--225	+	9
30. Amalie Valle, Louisiana St.	73-79-73--225	+	9
30. Ulrika van Niekerk, Texas Tech	76-74-75--225	+	9
35. Helena Blomberg, Alabama	79-70-77--226	+	10
35. Whitney Brummett, Florida St.	70-80-76--226	+	10
35. Ashley Rollins, Texas	73-74-79--226	+	10
38. Molly Aronsson, Washington	75-76-76--227	+	11
38. Katie Kempter, Denver	70-74-83--227	+	11
38. Rebecca Kuhn, Louisiana St.	77-75-75--227	+	11
41. Ellie Givens, Denver	74-80-74--228	+	12
41. Laura Jansone, East Tenn. St.	70-82-76--228	+	12
41. Carrie Morris, TCU	74-76-78--228	+	12
41. Maria Ringdahl, East Tenn. St.	78-71-79--228	+	12
41. Emily Street, No. Carolina St.	78-79-71--228	+	12
41. Glory Yang, UCLA	74-79-75--228	+	12
47. Emily Balmert, Harvard	79-74-76--229	+	13
47. Prisella Campbell, TCU	73-79-77--229	+	13
47. Kathleen Ekey, Alabama	77-77-75--229	+	13
47. Lauren Johnson, Texas A&M	75-78-76--229	+	13
47. Taylore Karle, Pepperdine	76-77-76--229	+	13
47. Whitney Wright, Florida St.	80-76-73--229	+	13
53. Megan Dowdy, Texas Tech	79-75-76--230	+	14
53. Courtney Harter, Alabama	75-74-81--230	+	14
55. Julia Best, Texas	77-78-76--231	+	15
55. Christine Brijalba, Texas St.	75-81-75--231	+	15
55. Karinn Dickin., Washington	75-76-80--231	+	15
55. Marisa Milligan, Illinois St.	77-75-79--231	+	15
55. Miranda Orr, Texas A&M	83-71-77--231	+	15
55. So-Hyun Park, Notre Dame	74-79-78--231	+	15
55. Gloriana Soto, Texas Tech	76-76-79--231	+	15
62. Ashley Freeman, Texas A&M	77-84-71--232	+	16
62. Natalia Giraldo, East Tenn. St.	79-76-77--232	+	16
64. Lucy Gould, East Tenn. St.	80-74-79--233	+	17
64. Caroline Martens, Louisiana St.	77-78-78--233	+	17
64. Sarah Sturm, Alabama	82-75-76--233	+	17
64. Kristin Walla, Texas	79-74-80--233	+	17
64. Kate White, Nebraska	73-86-74--233	+	17
64. y-Sara Wikstrom, Ark.-Little Rock	77-78-78--233	+	17
70. Maddi Swaney, Kent St.	80-76-78--234	+	18
71. Ali Bode, Harvard	77-79-79--235	+	19
71. Stephanie Oukeo, Purdue	76-83-76--235	+	19
71. Claire Sheldon, Harvard	79-76-80--235	+	19
74. Tiffany Hockensmith, Illinois St.	76-83-77--236	+	20
74. Kristin Wetzel, Notre Dame	76-83-77--236	+	20
76. Alexis Rather, Louisiana St.	77-76-84--237	+	21
77. Caitlin Bliss, Texas St.	74-80-84--238	+	22
77. Katie Conway, Notre Dame	79-83-76--238	+	22
77. Charlotte Wendner, Nebraska	76-80-82--238	+	22
77. Christina Yoon, Washington	81-80-77--238	+	22
81. Lauren Cousart, Florida St.	82-81-76--239	+	23
81. Martine de Gannes, Pepperdine	81-80-78--239	+	23
81. Macarena Silva, Florida St.	78-78-83--239	+	23
84. Annie Brophy, Notre Dame	84-78-78--240	+	24
84. Melissa Loh, TCU	81-79-80--240	+	24
84. Kira Meixner, Kent St.	78-76-86--240	+	24
84. Julie Saleeby, No. Carolina St.	80-81-79--240	+	24
84. Robyn Scott, Texas Tech	76-84-80--240	+	24
89. Tara Delaney, Kent St.	78-77-86--241	+	25
89. Trine Mortensen, Texas St.	78-84-79--241	+	25
91. Anya Alvarez, Washington	83-82-77--242	+	26
91. Jessica Hazlett, Harvard	83-81-78--242	+	26
93. Laura Harris, Illinois St.	81-81-82--244	+	28
93. Sinead O'Sullivan, East Tenn. St.	83-81-80--244	+	28
95. Stacey Miller, Illinois St.	80-81-84--245	+	29
95. Allison Stewart, Nebraska	82-75-88--245	+	29
97. Alex Gibson, Texas Tech	86-74-86--246	+	30
98. Nicole Ferrero, Washington	81-78-88--247	+	31
98. Stephanie Gelleni, Pepperdine	86-79-82--247	+	31
98. Sarah Harvey, Harvard	79-87-81--247	+	31
101. Marci Hill, Illinois St.	80-83-87--250	+	34
102. Sehee Kim, Texas St.	82-83-86--251	+	35
103. Lauren Chapman, Fair. Dickin.	87-85-83--255	+	39
103. Joanna Saleeby, No. Carolina St.	82-87-86--255	+	39
105. Michele Holzwarth, F. Dickin.	86-88-83--257	+	41
106. Sarah Feldman, Fair. Dickin.	89-84-87--260	+	44
107. Eva Mayr, Fair. Dickin.	92-84-89--265	+	49
108. Lisa Warrilow, Fair. Dickin.	92-93-85--270	+	54

Posted: 5/10/2008

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