April 28, 2008

The No. 14 Wake Forest women's golf team will travel to Athens, Ga. for the second time this season as the fifth seed in the 2008 NCAA East Regional, May 8-10.

"We're excited to be headed back to Athens," Wake Forest head coach Dianne Dailey said. "We know the area. We can get there early and not worry about having to fly."

Three regional tournaments will be conducted to determine the championships field. Regional tournaments are considered preliminary rounds of NCAA championships competition.

A total of 324 participants have been selected for regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals. The top eight teams and two individuals will advance from each regional to the championship.

The championship finals will be held May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course, Albuquerque, New Mexico, hosted by the University of New Mexico.

The Deacs finished eighth out of 17 teams at the Liz Murphey Collegiate on the University of Georgia Golf Course March 21-23. Wake posted a 63-over 927 as a team.

Freshman Allie Bodemann was the top finisher for the Deacs, ending the tournament in sole possession of 14th place. Junior Nannette Hill posted a top 25 finish with a 16-over 232 for the three day event.

The East field includes No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Florida, No. 8 Georgia, No. 10 Auburn, No. 14 Wake Forest, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 20 New Mexico and No. 21 Virginia.

"The course was in bad shape when we were there earlier this season," Dailey said. "The field might've been stronger, too, but there are some really good teams in the regional. This is a strong field."

Wake has never been sent to the state of Georgia for an NCAA Regional. Last year, in Baton Rouge, La., the Deacs carded a six-under 858 to finish in third place and qualify for the NCAA Championship.

The Deacs will attempt to qualify for their third consecutive NCAA Championship and their eighth in the last 11 years.

The regional sites and the selected teams and individuals are listed below.

East Regional

The East regional will be played May 8-10 at the UGA Golf Course, Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams: 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)

Individuals: 1. Dori Carter, Mississippi 2. Emma Degroot, Chattanooga 3. Paula Hurtado, Florida International

Central Regional

The Central regional will be played May 8-10 at the University of Texas Golf Course, Austin, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams: 1. UCLA 2. Purdue (Big Ten Conference) 3. Alabama 4. Denver (Sun Belt Conference) 5. Kent State (Mid-American Conference) 6. Pepperdine 7. LSU 8. Texas A&M 9. Notre Dame (Big East Conference) 10. Texas 11. TCU 12. Florida State 13. North Carolina State 14. East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun Conference) 15. Texas Tech 16. Washington 17. Nebraska 18. Harvard (Ivy Group) 19. Texas State (Southland Conference) 20. Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference) 21. Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast Conference)

Individuals: 1. Steffi Kirchmayr, College of Charleston 2. Sara Wikstrom, Arkansas-Little Rock 3. Araceli Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina

West Regional

The West regional will be played May 8-10 at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club, Lincoln, California, hosted by Sacramento State University. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams: 1. Southern California (Pacific-10 Conference) 2. Arizona State 3. Arkansas 4. Arizona 5. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference) 6. California 7. Michigan State 8. Stanford 9. BYU 10. Tulsa (Conference USA) 11. North Carolina 12. Ohio State 13. San Jose State 14. Oklahoma 15. Oregon 16. UNLV 17. UC Davis 18. UC Irvine (Big West Conference) 19. Fresno State (Western Athletic Conference) 20. Oral Roberts (The Summit League) 21. Portland State (Big Sky Conference)

Individuals: 1. Mallory Blackwelder, Kentucky 2. Danielle Cvitanov, San Francisco 3. Emily Powers, Kansas