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UVa Women's Golfers Advance to NCAA Championships
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Columbus, Ohio – The 27th-ranked Virginia women’s golf team earned a berth into the 2012 NCAA Championships by finishing fifth at the NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio. The top eight teams from the 24-team field advance to the national tournament May 22-25 in Franklin, Tenn., at Vanderbilt University’s Legends Club.
This will mark the fifth consecutive season the Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Championships. UVa is one of six teams to make a fifth straight appearance at the NCAAs. The other schools are: Alabama, Arizona State, Purdue, UCLA and USC.
Virginia shot 13-over 301 during Saturday’s final round to finish the 54-hole tournament at 905. USC led the field at 874 followed by Vanderbilt at 899. Purdue was third at 902 and Tennessee placed fourth at 904. Also qualifying from the region were Ohio State (908), NC State (911) and Arkansas (913).
Virginia was led by the fourth-place finish of junior Brittany Altomare. She shot 1-under 71 during the final round for a three-day total of 2-over 218. Lisa McCloskey of USC and Maria Salinas of Florida State tied for medalist honors at 3-under 213.
Freshman Briana Mao was UVa’s number-two finisher, placing 18th at 10-over 226 including a 74 during the final round. Elizabeth Brightwell was 26th in her first NCAA Regional. She finished at 228 and shot 76 Saturday. Lauren Greenlief was 50th at 234 and Portland Rosen placed 101st at 244.
“The young women on this team did a great job of preparing and practicing for this tournament and it paid off with a solid performance this week,” said Virginia coach Kim Lewellen. “I’m very proud of what they accomplished this week. They played good golf and did what they needed to do to advance. I’m confident they will play well at the NCAAs.”
Virginia opened the season by tying for third place at The Fall Preview, held at the site of this year’s NCAA Championships. The 18-team field featured the top 13 ranked teams in the nation and all 18 teams were rankeded in the top 25 at the time. Altomare finished third at the event.
The other 16 teams rounding out the field for this year’s NCAA Championship come from the East and West Regionals:
East Regional: 1. South Carolina (873), 2. Texas A&M (878), 2. Texas (878), 4. Alabama (879), 4. Florida (879), 6. Arizona State (887), 6. Michigan State (887) and 6. Duke (887).
West Regional: 1. UCLA (873), 1. LSU (873), 3. Pepperdine (875), 4. Colorado (877), 5. Baylor (879), 5. Stanford (879), 7. North Carolina (880) and 8. Oklahoma (890).
NCAA Central Regional
Ohio State Scarlet Course
Columbus, Ohio
Par-72, 6,264 yards
Final Results
Team Results
1. USC 298-290-286-874
2. Vanderbilt 308-292-299-899
3. Purdue 301-307-294-902
4. Tennessee 306-308-290-904
5. Virginia 308-296-301-905
6. Ohio State 310-302-296-908
7. NC State 307-304-300-911
8. Arkansas 310-308-295-913
9. Oregon 308-300-306-914
10. Florida State 314-301-304-919
11. Georgia 299-318-302-919
12. Auburn 306-304-312-922
13. Mississippi 315-311-304-930
14. Texas State 320-315-300-935
15. Notre Dame 304-320-312-936
16. Michigan 315-316-306-937
17. Kentucky 322-313-304-939
18. Harvard 315-317-311-943
19. South Florida 309-325-320-954
20. UTSA 317-326-319-962
21. East Carolina 329-310-328-967
22. UNC Wilmington 323-322-324-969
23. Butler 321-334-315-970
24. Siena 328-326-327-981
Individual Leaders
1. Lisa McCloskey, USC 73-68-72-213
1. Maria Salinas, Florida State 71-72-70-213
3. Marina Alex, Vanderbilt 70-73-72-215
4. Brittany Altomare, Virginia 75-72-71-218
4. Sophia Popov, USC 78-68-72-218
4. Emily Tubert, Arkansas 75-75-68-218
7. Rachel Rohanna, Ohio State 74-74-72-220
Virginia Results
4. Brittany Altomare 75-72-71-218
18. Briana Mao 78-74-74-226
26. Elizabeth Brightwell 78-74-76-228
50. Lauren Greenlief 77-77-80-234
101. Portland Rosen 84-76-84-244