Bama Women's Golf Finishes 18th at NCAA East Regional
5/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The University of Alabama women’s golf team didn’t have the kind of day they wanted in the final round of the 2004 NCAA East Regional on Saturday as the Crimson Tide posted a disappointing 332 to finish in 18th-place at the postseason event.
The Tide, who sat in 12th-place after the opening round, battled a challenging par 72, 6,165-yard Mission Inn Golf & Tennis Resort course for three days and finished with a final score of 961.
UA’s showing was a one-spot improvement on their last appearance in an NCAA regional in 2002 when they finished 19th. Bama’s best showing in a regional was a 13th-place finish at the 1994 East Regional in East Lansing, Mich.
“It is a bit of a disappointing way to finish,” said UA head coach Betty Palmer who has led Alabama to seven NCAA regionals in her career, “But, it can’t take away the success we had during the season. I was proud of the great attitude the team had despite their struggles on the course. Mission Inn is a very challenging layout and today the course won the battle against us. It was a tough day, but hopefully we can learn from this and come back stronger next year.”
Junior Megan George was the Crimson Tide’s top performer at the regional earning a tie for 36th-place. George, a first-year player for Bama making her first career appearance in the postseason, fashioned a solid three-day score of 231 (74-78-79). George was the lone UA player to record rounds in the 70s each day, and her finish tied former Bama standout Sarah Johnston (2001) for the sixth-best showing in school history at an NCAA Regional.
Freshman Amy Middleton matched George on Saturday with a team leading final round 79 to earn a tie for 55th at 237 (78-80-79). Junior Darby Sligh concluded her back pain challenged weekend with an 84 on Saturday to finish in a tie for 81st at 244 (83-77-84). Sophomore Carina Sorensen finished tied for 91st at 251 (76-85-90) and senior Mandy Tedder was 100th at 258 (85-83-90) to round out the Crimson Tide lineup.
Duke captured the team title with a three-day score of 869, outdistancing runner-up UNLV (891) by 22 shots. Other teams advancing to the NCAA Championship from the East Regional included North Carolina (892), Florida State (904), Wake Forest (906), Furman (907), Tennessee (918) and Oklahoma State (920), who defeated Florida in a playoff for the final spot. South Carolina’s Adrienne Gautreaux and East Carolina’s Adrienne Millican qualified as individuals for the national championship event and UNC’s Meaghan Francella captured the individual medallist honor with a score of seven-under-par 209.
Alabama, the 16th-seed at the East Regional, wasn’t the only team to falter against the Mission Inn course as second seed and national sixth seed Auburn also failed to advance to the championship that they are hosting in just two weeks at the AU University Club. Other high regional seeds failing to advance to nationals include Florida (#6), Tulane (#8) and LSU (#9). Thirteen-seed Florida State was the lowest seeded team to move on.
With the completion of the NCAA Regional, the Crimson Tide concludes their 2003-04 season. Alabama’s golfers will spend the rest of the spring and summer practicing and playing in a variety of amateur tournaments in preparation for the fall collegiate season that begins in September.
