University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Golfers Travel West For Regional
May 03, 2005 | Women's Golf
May 3, 2005
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Georgia Bulldog Golf
2005 NCAA West Regional Notes
Dates: May 5-7
Course: New Mexico State University Golf Course
Location: Las Cruces, N.M.
Par 72; 6,391 Yards
Bulldogs travel west for Regional
For the second time in as many years, the University of Georgia will travel to the West Regional looking to advance to the NCAA Women's Golf Championships.
The Bulldogs had competed in the East every year since the Regional format was adopted in 1993 before traveling to Stanford last May. The NCAA's effort to balance the top 15 teams between the three Regionals led to Georgia's placement in Las Cruces.
Georgia strong against West foes
The Bulldogs have compiled an impressive 18-3 record in head-to-head competition against 12 of the 21 teams competing in this weekend's NCAA West Regional.
All told, Georgia is: 1-1 against UCLA, 2-1 versus Oklahoma State; 3-1 versus Tennessee; 2-0 against Southern Cal; 2-0 versus Arizona; 2-0 against Cal; 1-0 versus Washington State; 1-0 against Stanford, 1-0 versus UNLV; 1-0 against Oregon; 1-0 versus BYU; and 1-0 against Northwestern.
Most of that action was during the first three tournaments of the regular-season last fall when Georgia was a combined 12-2 versus West Regional competition at the Dick McGuire Invitational (3-0), the NCAA Fall Preview (8-1) and the Mason Rudolph Championship (1-1).
The Bulldogs have faced only four Regional teams during the 2005 calendar year and SEC foe Tennessee is the only one of those Georgia has seen more than once.
The Bulldogs have not faced San Francisco, UC Irvine, Colorado State, Portland State, Oral Roberts, Illinois State, Georgia State or Denver prior to this weekend.
The Bulldog Lineup
Head Coach: Todd McCorkle (5th season at Georgia)
2005 SEC Coach of the Year; 2000 Golfweek National Coach of the Year; Coach of NCAA Champions in 2000 (Arizona) and 2001 (Georgia)
Assistant Coach: Laura Matthews (4th season at Georgia)
Four-time All-SEC performer; Three-time SEC Team Champion
Team Rankings: No. 2 Golfstat; No. 5 Golfweek, No. 3 by Golf World
Player Rds. Strks Avg.
Whitney Wade 27 2021 74.85
(5-3; Soph.; Glasgow, Ky.; Glasgow HS)
Notes: First-team All-SEC...team-high four top-10s including last three events...88.9 pct. counters
Kelly Froelich 27 2007 74.33
(5-9; Jr.; Paris, France; Saddlebrook (Fla.) Prep)
Notes: First-team All-SEC, two-time winner and three-time SEC Golfer of the Week honoree
Natalia Nicholls 27 2036 75.41
(5-3; Sr.; Cali, Colombia; Colegio Colombo Britanico)
Notes: Has competed in 40 of 42 events during her collegiate career...season-best 7th at SECs
Jackie Beers 27 2043 75.67
(5-5; Jr.; Warner Robins, Ga.; Monacan (Va.) HS)
Notes: Individual medalist at Mason Rudolph last fall after back-to-back career lows in 2nd & 3rd rounds
Lisa Tyler 14 1086 77.57
(5-9; Jr.; Lighthouse Point, Fla.; Westminster Acad.)
Notes: Slowed by a bout with mononucleosis in Jan....led UGA in 1st at Liz Murphey & in 3rd at Bryan
Georgia enjoying another solid season
The Bulldogs have captured two team and three individual titles during the 2004-05 regular season, success Todd McCorkle hopes will spill over into post-season play.
"The whole purpose of the regular season is to hopefully prepare to be at your best during post-season play," McCorkle said.
Kelly Froelich won medalist honors at both the Dick McGuire Invitational last September and the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic this March, leading Georgia to team victories in each event as well. Jackie Beers won the individual crown at the Mason Rudolph Championship in October.
The Bulldogs sport one of the nation's most balanced lineups. Four Georgia golfers have stroke averages between 74.33 and 75.67.
Current Bulldogs in NCAA Regional Play
Individual Statistics
Best Player Rds. Avg. Finish Low
Whitney Wade 3 74.00 t-18th 73
Kelly Froelich 6 74.50 7th 67
Natalia Nicholls 9 74.44 11th 72
Jackie Beers 6 74.83 30th 71
Lisa Tyler 6 75.83 22nd 71
2004 West (Stanford, Calif.)
Team: 5th of 21 (304-298-298=900)
Par: +36 / Lead: -39 / Players: 107
t18. Whitney Wade 73-73-76=222
t38. Jackie Beers 79-74-74=227
t41. Natalia Nicholls 78-75-75=228
t51. Kelly Froelich 83-76-73=232
t66. Lisa Tyler 74-83-78=235
2003 East (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Team: t-2nd of 21 (294-290-281=865)
Par: +13 / Lead: -8 / Players: 107
7. Kelly Froelich 76-70-67=215
t11. Natalia Nicholls 72-72-72=216
t22. Lisa Tyler 74-75-71=220
t30. Jackie Beers 77-74-71=222
t30. Summer Sirmons 72-74-76=222
2002 East (Baton Rouge, La.)
Team: 7th of 21 (300-295-297=892)
Par: +28 / Lead: -33 / Players: 107
t13. Summer Sirmons 78-69-72=219
t20. Angela Jerman 70-87-73=221
t54. Whitney Christie 75-76-75=226
t54. Natalia Nicholls 77-72-77=226
94. Abbi Francis 85-78-78=241
McCorkle headlines SEC honors
Todd McCorkle was selected as the 2005 SEC Coach of the Year in balloting of league coaches. In addition, Georgia's Kelly Froelich, Whitney Wade and Natalia Nicholls were named All-SEC.
McCorkle's Bulldogs are No. 2 and No. 5 in the current Golfstat and Golfweek national rankings, respectively, and he has Georgia on pace to break the team stroke average record for the third time during his five-year tenure in Athens.
"I'm excited," McCorkle said. "I feel like we have the best conference in the country for women's golf so it's a great honor to be selected as our coach of the year for 2005."
Froelich and Wade both were tabbed first-team All-SEC, while Nicholls was a second-team selection.
"To have three players honored as All-SEC and two more just barely missing says a lot about the depth of our program." McCorkle said. "All of our players were deserving of these awards."
This marks the second straight season Froelich, Nicholls and Wade have received All-SEC recognition. In addition, Froelich also was tabbed second-team All-SEC as a freshman in 2003.
Bulldogs oh so close to SEC title
Georgia returns to action after falling just short of claiming the Bulldogs' 11th SEC Championships three weeks ago.
After trailing Auburn by as many as a dozen strokes early in the final round, Georgia rallied furiously to surge past the Tigers with two to play but eventually wound up tied following 54 holes.
Georgia and Auburn squared off in the first-ever team playoff in SEC Championships history where the Tigers won the league title on the second hole.
UGA's NCAA Championship History
The Bulldogs have long been one of the nation's premier golf programs.
Georgia has produced 16 top-10 national finishes since women's golf became an intercollegiate sport at UGA in 1978-79, including winning the 2001 NCAA Championship. In addition, three Bulldogs have claimed individual national titles.
Terri Moody took medalist honors at the 1981 AIAW Championships, while Cindy Schreyer and Vicki Goetze won individual crowns at the 1984 and 1992 NCAA Championships, respectively.
"That's what is expected here at Georgia SEC Championships and high finishes in the NCAA Championships," McCorkle said. "That¹s why the girls are here at Georgia; they want to compete at the highest level."
After the NCAA went to a Regional format in 1993, Georgia competed in the East Regional 11 straight years between 1993-2003. The Bulldogs won Regional titles in 1993, 1998 and 1999. Georgia's year-by-year Regional results follow:
UGA's Regional History
Team Results
Yr. Location Result (Score)
'93 Baton Rouge, La. 1st of 18 (897)
'94 Memphis, Tenn. 14th of 19 (966)
'95 East Lansing, Mich. 5th of 19 (912)
'96 Opelika, Ala. 10th of 19 (932)
'97 Bloomington, Ill. t-8th of 19 (958)
'98 Durham, N.C. 1st of 19 (882)
'99 Columbia, S.C. 1st of 19 (903)
'00 Columbus, Ohio t-9th of 24 (914)
'01 Chapel Hill, N.C. 3rd of 21 (887)
'02 Baton Rouge, La. 7th of 21 (892)
'03 Wintson-Salem, N.C. t-2nd of 21 (865)
'04 Stanford, Calif. 5th of 21 (900)
Top Individual
Yr. Player Score (Place)
'93 Vicki Goetze 3rd (216)
'94 Erin O¹Neil t-32nd (238)
'95 K. Doohan/K. Richardson t-17th (227)
'96 Erin O¹Neil t-21st (231)
'97 Shauna Estes 7th (230)
'98 Reilley Rankin 1st (216)
'99 Shauna Estes 6th (218)
'00 Laura Henderson 8th (220)
'01 Laura Henderson 4th (217)
'02 Summer Sirmons 13th (219)
'01 R. Rankin, S. Sirmons 3rd (214)
'02 Angela Jerman 9th (218)
'03 Kelly Froelich 7th (215)
'04 Whitney Wade 18th (222)
* All East Regionals between 1993-2003; 2004 West Regional
Bulldogs among NCAAs best of late
Georgia is one of only eight schools in the nation to advance to each of the last six NCAA Women's Golf Championships as outlined below. The Bulldogs have finished among the top-11 teams during each of those years, including three top-five efforts.
Average finishes in the last six NCAAs
Rk. School 99 -00 -01 -02 -03 -04 Avg.
1. Texas 9 3 3 t2 3 t6 4.3
2. Duke 1 14 2 1 10 3 5.2
3. Georgia t2 7 1 5 11 10 5.8
4. Arizona 4 1 8 t2 7 t15 6.2
5. Southern Cal 7 4 7 14 1 t12 7.5
6. Stanford 8 2 9 11 16 t12 9.7
7. Arizona St. t2 t11 18 t9 18 10 11.3
8. Ohio St. 11 t20 22 8 4 8 12.2
Georgia getting bigger boosts
A year ago, Bulldog golfers posted 37 par-or-better individual rounds but just four of those were in the 60s. This season, Georgia has received the boost of lower red numbers, with eight of 27 par-or-better loops in the 60s.
Current Bulldogs rewriting history
The 2004-05 Georgia Bulldogs already have produced some of the best team and individual rounds and tournament results in the program¹s illustrious history.
The current Bulldogs have established three of the top-10 single-round and 54-hole team scores in UGA history. Individually, Georgia golfers have posted five rounds which tie for the ninth-best tally in school history and recorded two of the best 54-hole relation-to-par scores in Bulldog annals as outlined below.
UGA's Best Team Rounds
Rk. Score Tourney Rd.
1. 278 '88 SEC Championships 2nd
6. 284 '05 Bryan National 1st
8. 286 '04 NCAA Preview 1st
9. 287 '04 Dick McGuire 1st
UGA's Best Team Tournament Scores
Rk. Score Tourney
1. 864 '88 SEC Championships
6. 872 '04 Lady Paladin Invitational
6. 872 '04 NCAA Preview
10. 874 '04 Dick McGuire Invitational
UGA's Best Individual Rounds
Rk. Score Tourney Rd.
1. 65 Vicki Goetze, '92 NCAAs 4th
9. 68 W. Wade, '05 SECs 3rd
9. 68 J. Beers, '04 Mason Rudolph 3rd
9. 68 A. Martin, '04 NCAA Preview 1st
9. 68 K. Froelich, '04 D. McGuire 3rd
9. 68 K. Froelich, '04 D. McGuire 1st
UGA's Best Individual Tournaments
Rk. Score Tourney
1. -11 Reilley Rankin, '98 Liz Murphey
2. -10 Kelly Froelich, '04 Dick McGuire
10. -4 Jackie Beers, '04 Mason Rudolph
Froelich, Beers find winner's circle
Kelly Froelich has won two individual titles this season, and Jackie Beers also has claimed medalist honors.
Froelich won both the Dick McGuire Invitational and the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, while Beers captured top honors at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
At the season-opening Dick McGuire, Froelich played the first nine holes of the opening round at 6-under. Then, with the individual title virtually wrapped up, she birdied No. 17 and No. 18 in the final round to help clinch the team title as well.
Froelich's second victory came on UGA's home course in Athens at the 33rd annual Liz Murphey. She entered the final round among a group of nine golfers within two strokes of the lead and carded a 1-under 71 on Sunday to secure the crown.
Beers posted career-best scores in both the second and third rounds at the Mason Rudolph to collect her first collegiate win. Following an opening 75, Beers posted a 69 on Saturday and a 68 on Sunday. In the final round she birdied three of the final five holes en route to a three-stroke win.
Froelich three-time SEC GOW honoree
Kelly Froelich has thrice been named the SEC Golfer of the Week this season, becoming just the second player to do so since the league began the honor in 2000.
Froelich was selected on Sept. 23, Oct. 26 and March 29. Last season, Vanderbilt's May Wood was the first golfer to be a three-time honoree.
Last time in Las Cruces...
In its last trip to New Mexico State for the 1988 NCAA Championships, Georgia tied for second with Arizona State. That year's national title was later vacated, making the 2-under tally of the Bulldogs and Sun Devils the best relation-to-par score ever at the NCAAs.
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