Cavaliers Open Play at NCAA Regional on Thursday

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May 4, 2016

Charlottesville, Va. – The No. 15 Virginia women’s golf team opens play at the NCAA Regional in Stanford, Calif. on Thursday at the Stanford Golf Course. The 54-hole tournament runs May 5-7. The Cavaliers are the No. 4 seed in the field.

The top six schools from each of four 18-team regional sites will advance to the NCAA Championships along with the top two individuals not advancing from a team from each site. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for May 20-25 at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

Virginia will be looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the ninth time in the program’s 13-year history.

The field for UVa’s regional site includes: 1. USC, 2. Arkansas, 3. Stanford, 4. Virginia, 5. UNLV, 6. San Diego State, 7. Texas Tech, 8. Ohio State, 9. Colorado, 10. Wake Forest, 11. Michigan State, 12. North Carolina, 13. Pepperdine, 14. San Jose State, 15. UC-Riverside, 16. Idaho, 17. Richmond and 18. Seton Hall.

Live scoring of the tournament will be available at Golfstat.com.

NCAA Regional History
The 2016 NCAA Regional marks the 12th straight year Virginia has received a bid to the NCAA Championships. Virginia will be looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the ninth time in the program’s 13-year history. The Cavaliers’ top regional finish was a third-place performance in 2011. UVa placed fourth in 2009 and has been fifth five times (2015, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2005). The top individual finish came in 2010 when current assistant coach Calle Nielson tied for first at the West Regional at Stanford in 2010. Leah Wigger was a regional runner-up in 2005.

Last Time at Stanford
The Cavaliers finished fifth at the 2010 NCAA West Regional Championship at the Stanford Golf Course. Virginia junior Calle Nielson tied for medalist honors becoming the first player in the program’s history to win a regional title. San Jose State’s Madeleine Ziegert shared medalist honors with Nielson. No. 13 Virginia finished the 54-hole tournament at 42-over 894. Arizona, ranked No. 7, took the team title at 24-over 876. Top-ranked UCLA was second at 885. No. 32 Texas finished tied for third at 890 along with No. 6 Alabama. Stanford was sixth, one shot behind the Cavaliers. UVA’s lineup also featured future All-American Brittany Altomare, who make her LPGA Tour debut last weekend, and Lauren Greenlief, who won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

The UVa Lineup
Name Year Hometown Stroke Avg. Lauren Couglin Sr. Chesapeake, Va. 72.29 Lauren Diaz-Yi Jr. Thousand Oaks, Calif. 74.00 Morgan Gonzales Fr. Chandler, Ariz. 75.26 Anna Redding Fr. Concord, N.C. 74.81 Elizabeth Szokol Sr. Winnetka, Ill. 73.78

The ACC Sends Nine
Virginia is one of 10 ACC teams to receive an invitation to this year’s national championship. Also qualifying were Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina and Notre Dame and Wake Forest. The 10 selections are the most ever for the ACC.