From LBSU reports
After winning their first-ever Big West championship, the Long Beach State women’s golf team is beginning a new season, as they’ll be among 21 teams participating at the West Regional in Tempe, Ariz., May 7-9, the NCAA Division-I Women’s Golf Committee announced earlier today. The 49ers will be the No. 15 seed in the three-day, 54-hole regional that will take place at the par-72, 6,230-yard Karsten Golf Course at Arizona State University.
“It’s good to finally hear the words that we’re heading to the West Regional,” said 49er head coach Sue Ewart. “The girls have certainly played a phenomenal spring season and winning back-to-back tournaments is indicative of their abilities as a team. The regional field is formidable and it will be important to get out of the gate with a strong start and keep the pedal to the metal. Momentum is definitely on our side and we intend to continue the ride on to Nationals.”
This year’s tournament is dispersed among three regional sites – the West Regional in Tempe, the Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio, and the East Regional in Gainesville, Fla. The top eight teams and two individuals from each site will advance to the NCAA Finals in Owings Mills, Md.
LBSU will be making their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament as they won their first Big West Conference Championship last week in San Luis Obispo. The 49ers won the title by one stroke on the last hole over UC Irvine and UC Davis. Freshman Lee Lopez tied for second place with a 228 (74-76-78) and senior All-American Kay Hoey tied for seventh with a 233 (76-79-78).
The 49ers made their first NCAA appearance in 2006 when they received an at-large bid to the West Regional in Auburn, Wash. The Beach finished 17th out of 21 teams with a three-round score of 950 (307-325-318).
NCAA West Regional
Karsten Golf Course (Hosted by ASU) — Tempe, Ariz.
May 7-9, 2009
Teams
1. Arizona State (Pacific-10 Conference)
2. Southern California
3. Louisiana State
4. Pepperdine
5. Arkansas
6. San Jose State (Western Athletic Conference)
7. Arizona
8. California
9. UC Irvine
10. San Francisco
11. UNLV
12. TCU
13. Texas A&M
14. Oregon
15. Long Beach State (Big West Conference)
16. Colorado
17. Texas
18. Baylor
19. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland Conference)
20. Northern Arizona (Big Sky Conference)
21. Oral Roberts (The Summit League)
* Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.