May 4, 2004

LAS CRUCES, NM - Battling 92-degree heat, the Western Washington University women's golf team is in fourth place, 15 strokes behind leader and defending champion Northeastern State OK, entering Wednesday's final round of the six-team NCAA Division II West Regional being played at the 6,336-yard, par 73 University Golf Course on the campus of New Mexico State University.

The top two teams, along with the top two individuals not with a qualifying team, from each of the eight regionals, advance to the NCAA II National Championship on May 12-15 at The Legacy at Alaqua in Longwood, Florida.

The Vikings, who are making the school's second straight regional appearance, had rounds of 329 and 323 on Tuesday for a 36-hole total of 652. This year's No.6 seed, they placed third last year.

No.3 seed Northeastern State leads with a score of 637, posting rounds of 313 and 324. Four strokes behind is No.1-seed St. Mary's TX at 639 (317-322), with host and No.2-seed Western New Mexico third at 645 (324-321). Tarleton State is fifth at 654 (328-326) and Central Oklahoma is sixth at 658 (330-328).

"We're not out of it," said Western coach Dean Russell. "We're 13 shots out of second place, but I've seen goofier things happen. We'll get rested up and go out and battle as hard as we can."

Western senior co-captains Sarah Cooper (Marysville/Archbishop Murphy) and Kelly White (Monroe) are both among the top 10 in the medalist standings. Cooper is tied for fifth at 159 (81-78), and White is tied for seventh at 160 (81-79).

Freshman Katie Bender (Fr., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep) is tied for 16th at 164 (82-82), sophomore Katja Trygg (Bainbridge Island) is tied for 24th at 169 (85-84) and sophomore Candice Wagner (Milton/Fife) is 33rd at 176 (85-91).

I really felt that we battled hard today," Russell said. "It's a very tough and demanding golf course in hot weather. We actually had the lead early in the first round, but slipped a bit on the last six holes. In the second round, we made another run and got within four of the second-place team, but holes 11 through 16 hurt us a little bit."

White, who leads the Vikings with an 80.2 scoring average, placed fourth at regionals last year.

The individual leader with a five-stroke advantage is Danielle Miron of Northeastern State. She shot 1-under 145 with rounds of 67, the best of the day and 13 shots better than her average, and 78. Western New Mexico's Katharine Dorris is second at 150 (74-76), and teammate Kristen Kennedy is third at 154 (81-73).

1  N'eastern OK State U 313  324  637
2  St. Mary's U. (TX)   317  322  639
3  Western New Mexico   324  321  645
4  Western Washington U 329  323  652
5  Tarleton State       328  326  654
6  Central Oklahoma     330  328  658

1 Danielle Miron  N'eastern OK State 67  78  145
2 Katharine Dorris  Western New Mexico 74  76  150
3 Kristen Kennedy  Western New Mexico 81  73  154
4 Nicole Wyne  St. Mary's U. (TX) 80  77  157
T5 Sarah Cooper  Western Washington 81  78  159
T5 Marla Troester  St. Mary's U. (TX) 80  79  159
T7 atherine Carvajal  St. Mary's U. (TX) 76  84  160
T7 Meredith Easley *  W. Texas A & M Univ  78  82  160
T7 Allison Toomer  N'eastern OK State 79  81  160
T7 Kelly White  Western Washington 81  79  160
T11 Kelly Callison  Central Oklahoma  83  78  161
T11 Morgan Peterson *  CSU-Chico St  83  78  161
T11 Ashley Slavich  Tarleton State  81  80  161
14 Alesha Hurt  Tarleton State  82  80  162
15 Claire Sturdivan  Central Oklahoma  80  83  163
T16 Jessica Allee-Bennett *  Mesa State  79  85  164
T16 Katie Bender  Western Washington 82  82  164
T16 Brandi Colgan  Tarleton State 83  81  164
19 Melissa Martin  Central Oklahoma 83  82  165
20 Elizabeth Reid  St. Mary's U. (TX) 81  85  166
21 Amie Broadway  Tarleton State 82  85  167
T22 Elizabeth Brandt  St. Mary's U. (TX) 86  82  168
T22 Molly Van Petton  N'eastern OK State 88  80  168
T24 Liz Kester  N'eastern OK State 83  86  169
T24 Katja Trygg  Western Washington 85  84  169
T24 Leah Weigle  N'eastern OK State 84  85  169
T27 Kim Cammer  Western New Mexico  83  87  170
T27 Laura Madden  Central Oklahoma  84  86  170
T29 Jessica Doherty  Central Oklahoma 86  85  171
T29 Jessica Ortiz  Western New Mexico 86  85  171
T31 Heather Dorris  Western New Mexico 87  88  175
T31 Lauren Martinez  Tarleton State   86  89  175
33 Candice Wagner  Western Washington 85  91  176