University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Golfers Earn Spot In NCAA Championships Field
May 09, 2009 | Women's Golf
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The Georgia women's golf team advanced to the NCAA Championships on Saturday, but only after a couple of anxious hours watching from the clubhouse.
The Bulldogs finished eighth at the NCAA East Regional, the final spot in the field to qualify for the national championship competition slated for May 19-22 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md.
Georgia entered the final round at Florida's Mark Bostick Golf Course in eighth place but slipped to 10th when the teams in the morning wave finished play just after 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs were forced to wait and hope that two teams teeing off in the afternoon would fall behind them on the leaderboard. That finally happened when No. 7 Auburn struggled down the stretch.
"At least we were finished instead of having to shoot a score," head coach Kelley Hester said. "That's definitely more difficult. It was a positive to be in the clubhouse."
The Bulldogs closed with a 297 and finished at 889, four shots ahead of the Tigers.
"It's a total reset when we get to nationals," Hester said. "I think we may have benefitted a little bit from this process. This shows how every shot is important."
Carolina Andrade posted the Bulldogs' low tally for the second time in three days by firing a 1-over 71 on the par-70 layout. Marta Silva Zamora's 72, Mallory Hetzel's 76 and Tess Fordham's 78 rounded out Georgia's counters. Leigh Crosby shot an 83.
"Marta made some crazy tough up and downs coming in," Hester said. "She was clutch. Carolina was 1-under for the better part of the day and that was key."
Overall, Silva Zamora tied for 19th at 219, Hetzel tied for 23rd at 220, Andrade tied for 30th at 221, Fordham tied for 67th at 229 and Crosby finished 103rd at 236.
Georgia now advances to the NCAA Champoinships for the 11th time in the last dozen years, a span that includes nine top-10 finishes.
"I think that speaks volumes about this program and its history," Hester said. "I don't think anyone would argue the fact that this has been an up and down year. My girls always expected that they would be competing at nationals, even at the lowest point."
No. 20 Denver carded a 1-under 279 to slip past No. 6 Alabama to claim the team title. The Pioneers finished at 862, four shots better than the Crimson Tide. Also advancing to the NCAAs were Tennessee (873), No. 3 Virginia (874), Tulane (876), No. 10 North Carolina (881) and No. 12 Duke (881).
Denver's Dawn Shockley blistered the course to the tune of 4-under 66 on Saturday and claimed medalist honors at 1-under 209. She edged UCF's Stephanie Connelly by a single stroke.
NCAA Division I Women's East Regional
May 7-9
Mark Bostick Golf Course
Gainesville, Fla.
Par 70; 6023 Yards
Saturday's Final-Round Results
Team Leaderboard
Denver 287-296-279=862
Alabama 284-291-281=866
Tennessee 292-293-288=873
Virginia 290-297-287=874
Tulane 292-296-288=876
Duke 298-293-290=881
North Carolina 291-303-287=881
Georgia 297-295-297=889
ECU 283-313-296=892
Auburn 304-294-295=893
Vanderbilt 286-299-309=894
South Carolina 308-290-299=897
Coastal Carolina 301-297-300=898
Furman 305-290-308=903
Florida State 307-297-303=907
Florida 305-301-302=908
Ole Miss 307-293-309=909
UCF 309-302-298=909
Stetson 309-303-304=916
College of Charleston 302-310-312=924
Jackson State 324-336-330=990
Individual Leaderboard
Dawn Shockley, Denver 73-70-66=209
Stephanie Connelly, UCF 73-69-68=210
Camilla Lennarth, Alabama 69-70-73=212
Nathalie Mansson, Tennessee 69-72-71=212
Marina Alex, Vanderbilt 69-72-73=214
Katie Kempter, Denver 69-77-68=214
Brooke Pancake, Alabama 70-72-73=215
Whitney Neuhauser, Virginia 71-74-71=216
Candace Schepperle, Auburn 71-70-75=216
Stephanie Sherlock, Denver 69-74-73=217
Georgia Scores
T19. Marta Silva Zamora 76-71-72=219
T23. Mallory Hetzel 75-69-76=220
T30. Carolina Andrade 73-77-71=221
T67. Tess Fordham 73-78-78=229
103. Leigh Crosby 82-86-83=251
