Cavaliers Golfers Prepare for NCAA Regional

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May 8, 2006

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2005-2006 UVa Women’s Golf Statistics
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The East Regional
The 2006 NCAA East Regional Women’s Golf Championships will take place at Bryan Park Golf Course in Browns Summit, N.C. The 54-hole tournament includes a single-round of competition on each date from May 11-13. The top eight finishers from the 21-team field will advance to the NCAA Championships to be held at Ohio State May 23-26. The top two individuals not represented by one of the eight advancing teams will also qualify for the NCAA Championships. Wake Forest is the host institution for this year’s tournament.

The Field
The complete field for the East Regional includes: 1. Arizona State, ?2. Auburn, 3. Tennessee, 4. Wake Forest, 5. California, 6. Vanderbilt, 7. Virginia, 8. South Carolina, 9. LSU, 10. Florida State, 11. Alabama, ?12. North Carolina State, 13. Augusta State, 14. Maryland, 15. Furman, 16. North Carolina, 17. Mississippi State, 18. Campbell, 19. College of Charleston, 20. East Carolina, 21 and Yale. Individuals: 1. Adrienne White, Louisville, 2. Christina Jones, South Florida and 3. Michelle Jarman, North Carolina-Wilmington

Tee Times
Virginia will be paired with No. 8 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU during the first two days of play. The Cavaliers practice time is set for 9:22 a.m. Wednesday. Virginia will start its first round Thursday at 8:10 a.m from the No. 1 tee. The Cavaliers second round begins at 12:30 p.m. from the 10th tee. The top six teams in the standings will tee off at 8:10 on Saturday. Teams 7-12 will begin their rounds at 9 a.m. and the rest of the field in the afternoon.

UVa Lineup
Virginia coach Jan Mann’s lineup for the NCAA East Regional will include (stroke average) Leah Wigger (73.41), Rachel Smith (76.81), Carly Truitt (76.93), Lauren Mielbrecht (75.59) and Jennie Arseneault (75.33). Wigger, leads the team with a 73.41 stroke average.

UVa at the NCAAs
Last year UVa finished fifth at the East Regional in the program’s first postseason appearance. The Cavaliers went on to place 13th at the NCAA Championships. Leah Wigger was the runner-up in both tournaments.

Repeat Performers
Three of the five players who competed for the Cavaliers at last year’s NCAA East Regional will be making their second consecutive appearance in the event. Wigger led that group with a second-place finish while Mielbrecht was 35th and Rachel Smith was 51st. This year’s other two golfers, Truitt and Arseneault, are freshmen.

Standings and Stats
Virginia is ranked 20th in this week’s Golfweek poll. Cavalier junior Leah Wigger is 20th in the Golfweek individual rankings and stands 18th in the Golfstat Cup standings. Freshman Jennie Arseneault is 97th in the poll while sophomore Lauren Mielbrecht is 98th. Wigger ranks fifth nationally (Golfstat) in par-3 scoring at 3.04 and is ninth in total short game (.610). Virginia ranks ninth in greens in regulation (.601) and is eighth in total short game (.495).

The Other Regionals
The Central Regional at The Traditions at Texas A&M, College Station, Texas: 1. Duke, 2. Southern California,3. Pepperdine, 4. Texas A&M, 5. Florida, 6. Oklahoma State, 7. Kent State, 8. Ohio State, 9. Michigan State, 10. SMU, 11. TCU, 12. Missouri, 13. Baylor, 14. Tulsa, 15. Nebraska,16. Northwestern, 17. Texas, 18. Birmingham-Southern, 19. Jacksonville State, 20. Jackson State and 21. St. Francis (Pa.). Individuals: 1. Samantha Richdale, Illinois State, 2. Amy Schmucker, Michigan and 3. Amanda Costner, Kansas

The West Regional at the Washington National Golf Club, Auburn, Washington: 1. UCLA, 2. Georgia, 3. Purdue, 4. Arkansas, 5. UNLV, 6. Arizona, 7.Stanford, 8. New Mexico, 9. Washington, 10. Long Beach State, 11. Brigham Young, 12. UC Irvine, 13. San Jose State, 14. Denver, 15. Oregon State, 16. Washington State, 17. New Mexico State, 18. Georgia State, 19. Oral Roberts, 20. Bradley and 21. Montana. Individuals: 1. Jessica Potter, San Francisco, 2. Renee Skidmore, Idaho and 3. Chelsea Benton, Colorado State.

All-ACC Honors
Virginia women’s golfers Leah Wigger and Lauren Mielbrecht were named to the 2006 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Golf team, as selected by a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. It marks the third consecutive year that Wigger, a junior, has been honored. Mielbrecht received the distinction for the first time and became just the second Cavalier player to earn All-ACC accolades.

Mann Made
Only in its third season, the Virginia women’s golf team has been coach by Jan Mann since the program’s inception. Last season Mann was named the ACC coach of the year after guiding the Cavaliers to their first post-season appearance. Prior to starting the UVa program, Mann was the head coach at UNC Wilmington for eight seasons from 1994-2002. She took the Seahawks to the NCAA Regional in 2002.