April 28, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's golf team received the news it had been anticipating on Monday as the Knights earned a berth to participate in the 2008 NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga. NCAA Regional play will be held at three different sites across the country from May 8-10.
UCF played one of the hardest schedules in collegiate golf during the season and the players were rewarded for their efforts with the at-large bid to regional play. This will be the first appearance in regional play for the Knights since the 2002 campaign when UCF placed ninth at the South Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
"This is a huge step for us," head coach Emilee Klein said. "I am proud of the team and how they have played this season. We played a really difficult schedule and we are now finally starting to get noticed."
This will be the second stop for the Knights this spring at the University of Georgia Golf Course as the team competed in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, March 21-23.
"The course is really tough, but I think it sets up well for our team," Klein added. "The greens are hard, but we know what expect now having already played there. That was a month ago, so the course will have changed since it has grown in some, but we will be ready to compete."
The Knights had four players earn All-Conference USA honors this season - the most since the 2001 season when UCF also made a regional appearance. The team placed fourth at the league championship earlier this month and has finished in top four at the event in each of Klein's three years guiding the program.
Junior May Tomimbang (Kissimme, Fla.) was the top finisher for the Knights in the event hosted by Georgia last month, tying for 37th. She holds the top stroke average on the team at 75.81 and was a first-team All-Conference USA selection.
Junior Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) and freshman Jessy Tang (Miami, Fla.) were both second team all-league selections. Tang was the top finisher at the conference tournament for the Knights, tying for 11th. Tomimbang, Connelly and Tang will be joined in the line-up by sophomore Leigh Crosby (Athens, Ga.), who was a third team all-league selection, and freshman Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.)
The top eight teams and two individuals from each of the three regional events will compete at the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., May 20-23. UCF hosted the NCAA Championship a year ago at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.
NCAA East Regional Field 1. Duke(Atlantic Coast Conference) 2. Florida (Southeastern Conference) 3. Georgia 4. Auburn 5. Wake Forest 6. Tennessee 7. Virginia 8. New Mexico (Mountain West Conference) 9. Vanderbilt 10. Louisville 11. South Carolina 12. Furman (Southern Conference) 13. East Carolina 14. Georgia State 15. UCF 16. Missouri 17. Indiana 18. North Carolina-Wilmington (Colonial Athletic Association) 19. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference) 20. Charleston Southern (Big South Conference) 21. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Automatic conference champions are in italics
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