May 9, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Senior Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) led the UCF women's golf team and advanced to the NCAA Championships by shooting a career-low 68 in Saturday's third and final round of the NCAA East Regional held at the par-70, 6,023-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida.
Connelly finished the event with an even-par 210 (73-69-68) to place second out of the elite 108-golfer field behind only Dawn Shockley of Denver (209, -1). Connelly and Marina Alex of Vanderbilt, who tied for fifth place with a 214, will be the individuals who represent the regional at the NCAA Championships. Each of the top eight teams and two individuals not from those teams advance to the NCAA Championships, May 19-22 in Owings Mills, Md. The course is only about 30 miles from Connelly's hometown of Pasadena, Md.
Overall, UCF shot a 298, its best tally of the 54-hole event, to finish with a 909 and tie Ole Miss for 17th. Denver won the regional at 862 and will advance onwards along with Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Tulane, Duke, North Carolina and Georgia.
The appearance in NCAA Regionals was the eighth all-time for UCF and the second year in a row that the school has done so. The Knights advanced onto the NCAA Championships as a team in 1996.
Connelly's 210 was 20 strokes better than her closest teammate, sophomore Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.) who carded a 230. It is Detlefsen's highest finish this year amongst Knights after finishing third on three occasions in 2008-09. Senior Mayule Tomimbang (Kissimmee, Fla.) tied for second on the team in the final round with her 76 and placed third amongst the Knights for the event with a 237. Freshman Elisa Aoki (Bradenton, Fla.) finished with a 239 while junior Victoria Tomko (Lontzen, Belgium) matched Tomimbang with a 76 on Saturday, her best round of the regionals, and concluded play with a 246 overall.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
2009 NCAA EAST REGIONAL
MARK BOSTICK GOLF COURSE * GAINESVILLE, FLA.
FINAL RESULTS * PAR 70 * 6,023 YARDS
TOP TEAM SCORES
1. Denver 287-296-279=862 (+22)
2. Alabama 284-291-291=866 (+26)
3. Tennessee 292-293-288=873 (+33)
4. Virginia 290-297-287=874 (+34)
5. Tulane 292-296-288=876 (+36)
...
17. UCF 309-302-298=909 (+69)
17. Ole Miss 307-293-309=909 (+69)
UCF SCORERS
2. Stephanie Connelly 73-69-68=210 (Even)
T72. Katie Detlefsen 75-77-78=230 (+20)
T88. Mayule Tomimbang 82-79-76=237 (+27)
T92. Elisa Aoki 80-77-82=239 (+29)
T101. Victoria Tomko 81-89-76=246 (+36)