April 28, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University women's golf team is making a sixth straight trip to the NCAA Division II West Regional to be held on May 5-7 at The Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Ari. (host Grand Canyon University). That announcement was made today by the NCAA II Women's Golf Committee.

The Vikings are the No.3-seed among six teams selected to compete in the West Regional. Last year, they placed fourth, having a three-year string of national appearances snapped.

The 54-hole event is one of four regionals being held across the country. The top two teams in each region earn automatic berths to the national tournament on May 13-16 at the Memorial Golf Course in Houston, Texas.

The No.1 seed in the West Regional is defending champion Tarleton State TX, followed by No.2 St. Edwards TX, No.3 WWU, No.4 Northeastern State OK, No.5 Western New Mexico and No.6 Saint Martin's.

The Vikings are No.16 in the latest Golf World/National Golf Coaches Association/NCAA II Top 25. Tarleton State is tied for No.3, with Northeastern State No.9, St. Edward's No.13, Western New Mexico No.18 and Saint Martin's No.22.

"This regional is going to be very competitive," said third-year Western coach Bo Stephan. "I think anybody from the first seed to the sixth seed can win, which makes it kind of fun because you know that you have to go and play good golf to go to nationals."

The Vikings tied for the regional title in 2005 and finished second in 2004 and 2006, making trips to nationals each time.

Western's Catherine Kim (Sr., Bellevue/Skyline) will be making her fourth regional appearance. She is tied for second on the team in scoring average at 79.9 with Allison Gillette (Sr., Seattle/Ballard), who is making her third trip.

Kim earned all-star honors by placing fifth at regionals in 2005 and won the Chico State Invitational on Apr. 7-8, tying the school record with a final-round, 3-under par 69.

Gillette has had four top 10 finishes this season, tying her with Kaitlin Parker (Jr., Burlington/Marysville-Pilchuck), a transfer from Skagit Valley CC who leads the Vikings with a 78.9 scoring average.

Rounding out Western's five are Breanna Carmichael (So., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep) (81.1), who is playing in her second regional, and Lianne Matkin (So., Spokane/Northwest Christian) (81.2), who has had three top 10 finishes.

Carmichael led the Vikings at regionals last spring, tying for 10th place.

Western finished among the top three in five of nine regular-season tournaments, winning four times and placing second once.

D-II Women's Field Announced

INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA Division II Women's Golf Committee has selected the teams and individuals that will compete in the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships.

The 2008 NCAA Division II women's golf regional competition will be conducted May 5-7. Each regional will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently with six teams and three individuals from non-qualifying teams at each site. All participants will compete throughout the 54 holes of competition. The top two teams along with the top two individuals not with a team from each regional, will advance to the championships.

The 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships will be held May 13-16, at Memorial Park in Houston, Texas, and will be hosted by the Rice University and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. The championships will be part of the Division II Spring Championships Festival.

The championships will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently. All participants will compete throughout the entire 72 holes of competition. In the team competition, the low four scores for each team will count in each day's total score. The number of participants that qualify for the finals is 48.

The following teams and individuals were selected to participate in the championships.

East Region Teams:
1. Grand Valley State
2. Ferris State
3. Indianapolis
4. California (Pennsylvania)
5. Northern Kentucky
6. Southern Indiana

East Region Individuals:
1. Christine Suchy, Ashland
2. Katie Wilburn, Drury
3. Sarah Duplessis, Bellarmine

North Region Teams:
1. Nebraska-Omaha
2. Upper Iowa
3. Minnesota State Mankato
4. Augustana (South Dakota)
5. Truman
6. North Dakota

North Region Individuals:
1. Jacquelyn Hauser, Concordia-St. Paul
2. Megan Placko, Winona State
3. Chelsey Ouren, Morehead State

South Region Teams:
1. Nova Southeastern
2. Florida Southern
3. Rollins
4. Barry
5. Lynn
6. West Florida

South Region Individuals:
1. Brittany Beltran, Pfeiffer
2. Franziska Blum, Newberry
3. Daniela Iacobelli, Florida Tech

West Region Teams:
1. Tarleton State
2. St. Edward's
3. Western Washington
4. Northeastern State
5. Western New Mexico
6. St. Martin's

West Region Individuals:
1. Cicilia Chudivan, Cal State Monterey Bay
2. Jessica McKay, Grand Canyon
3. Raelynn Farthing, Central Oklahoma

REGIONAL DATES AND SITES

East: The Meadows
 Allendale, Michigan
 Grand Valley State University, host
 May 5-7

North: King's Walk Golf Course
 Grand Forks, North Dakota
 University of North Dakota, host
 May 5-7

South: Mission Inn Resort & Club
 Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida
 Sunshine State Conference and Central Florida Sports Commission, hosts
 May 5-7

West: The Legacy Golf Resort
 Phoenix, Arizona
 Grand Canyon University, host
 May 5-7

In the 2007 championship, Florida Southern College held off Rollins College to win the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship. Florida Technical Institute's Daniela Iacobelli captured individual national championship.

For more information about the 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships, log on to http://www.ncaa.com.