Cavalier Golfers Climb to 11th at NCAA East Regional

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May 12, 2006

Brown Summit, NC – The 20th-ranked Virginia women’s golf team carded a second round score that was 10 shots better than its opening round effort at the NCAA East Regional to move up to 11th place. Led by the even par performances of juniors Leah Wigger and Rachel Smith, UVa shot 5-over 293 Friday and enters Saturday’s final round at 20-over 596. The tournament is taking place at Bryan Park Golf Course in Brown Summit, N.C.

Only the top eight finishers from the 21-team field will move on to the NCAA Championships May 23-26 at Ohio State. The Cavaliers enter Saturday’s play four strokes behind eighth-place North Carolina (592). South Carolina is ninth at 593, Auburn is 10th at 594 and Vanderbilt is tied with the Cavaliers in 11th place.

LSU shot even par 288 for the second straight day and has a two-shot lead after 36-holes at 576. Tennessee is second at 578. Alabama’s Jenny Suh stands atop the leader board in stroke place at 5-under 139. Tennessee’s Marci Turner and Wake Forest’s Mandy Goins are tied for second at 140. Virginia’s Smith is tied for seventh at 1-under 143.

“Certainly we would have like to have finished better, but they did have a good day today,” said Virginia coach Jan Mann. “We want to make it to the championships and are good enough to make it there. If they stay confident in themselves, we have a chance to make it happen. Tomorrow will be a big challenge for us.”

The Cavaliers got their second round off to a strong start when the four scoring players made the turn at 1-under. That combination managed just one birdie over the final nine holes against several bogies and ended the day at 5-over 293.

Wigger, an All-ACC selection, was at 2-under with three holes left when she collected a double bogie to drop her back to even. She stands 17th at 146. Smith, who shot 1-under 71 during the opening round. was also at 2-under after her first eight holes before collecting two bogies down the stretch.

“She (Smith) didn’t have a great fall but the thing I love about Rachel is that she just keeps moving forward and she never gives up” Mann said. “She gets it done. To see her successful here, at this level, is very nice.”

Sophomore Lauren Mielbrecht, also an All-ACC pick, had the biggest improvement during the second round. After carding an 8-over 80 Thursday, she rebounded with a 1-over 73. She moved up to 73rd at 153.

Freshman Carly Truitt, who opened with three consecutive bogies, fought back to be UVa’s fourth scorer at 4-over 76. Freshman Jennie Arseneault shot 5-over 77 for the Cavaliers. Arseneault completed her second round in 86th place at 155 while Truitt was 91st at 156.

Mann said the key for the Cavaliers to earn their second straight trip to the NCAA Championships is stay consistent and not push on one of the most pressure-packed days of the college golf season.

“I don’t think you can tell them to be more aggressive because this golf course demands that you play conservative in some places,” Mann said. “They can be aggressive at times. They just have to go out and play their game. If they do, I think they can be successful. It’s the third day, so they know the course by now and they can make some things happen.”

The Cavaliers will tee off at 9 a.m. from the 10th tee during Saturday’s final round. Updated scoring of the championship can be found on the Internet at www.golfstat.com. Video highlights of each day of play are available at www.golfweek.com

NCAA East Regional Championship
Bryan Park Golf Course
Second Round Results
Brown Summit, NC
Par 72, 6,386 yards

Team Results

1. LSU 288-288-576 2. Tennessee 292-286-578 3. California 288-295-583 4. Florida State 297-289-586 5. Alabama 295-293-588 6. Wake Forest 296-293-588 7. Arizona State 307-284-591 8. North Carolina 296-296-592 9. South Carolina 296-297-59310. Auburn 293-301-59411. Vanderbilt 296-300-59611. Virginia 303-293-59613. Maryland 305-294-59914. Col. of Charleston 309-292-60114. Augusta State 308-293-60116. NC State 303-301-60416 Yale. 308-296-60418. Furman 298-308-60619. East Carolina 313-295-60820. Campbell 308-302-61021. Mississippi State 313-304-617

Top Individuals1. Jenny Suh, Alabama 69-70-1392. Mandy Goins, Wake Forest 70-70-1402. Marci Turner, Tennessee 70-70-1404. Caroline Martens, LSU 73-68-1415. Rebecca Kuhn, LSU 71-71-1425. Lauren Smith, August State 70-72-1427. Sofie Andersson, California 71-72-1437. Allison Goodman, California 71-72-1437. Alissa Kuczka, Arizona State 75-68-1437. Nicole Smith, Tennessee 71-72-1437. Rachel Smith, Virginia 71-72-1437. Carolina Westrup, Florida St. 71-72-143

Virginia Results 7. Rachel Smith 71-72-14317. Leah Wigger 74-72-14673. Lauren Mielbrecht 80-73-15386. Jennie Arseneault 78-77-15591. Carly Truitt 80-76-156