Alabama
NCAA Women's Golf Championships
Alabama Women’s Golf Begins NCAA Championships Play on Friday
5/17/2017 9:06:00 AM | Women's Golf
Crimson Tide enter this year’s tournament as one of the top three teams in the field
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 2-ranked Alabama women's golf team will be making its 12th consecutive appearance - and 13th in program history - at the 2017 NCAA Women's Golf Championships. The Crimson Tide will be one of 24 teams vying for the national championship at this year's tournament, which will be held May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. Alabama is scheduled to tee off at noon CT on Friday and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and will be paired with Stanford and Florida in the first two rounds.
Alabama advanced to this year's tournament by winning the NCAA Athens Regional with 14-shot victory over runner-up Northwestern. The win is the third regional title all-time for the Crimson Tide. Alabama previously captured NCAA East Regional championships in 2011 at Daytona Beach, Fla. and 2013 at Auburn, Ala.
Crimson Tide Boasts Three of Nation's Top-10 Golfers
Sophomore Cheyenne Knight is the nation's No. 3-ranked golfer in the latest Golfstat individual statistical rankings. Knight (70.00) is joined in the top 10 by two of her teammates: sophomore Lauren Stephenson (70.96) is fifth and freshman Kristen Gillman (71.11) is eighth. Knight (third), Gillman (sixth) and Stephenson (12th) are also among the leaders in the most recent Golfweek women's rankings.
Alabama in the National Rankings
The Crimson Tide is No. 2 latest Golfstat Relative Rankings released May 11. Stanford is No. 1 followed by Alabama, Florida, UCLA and Florida State to round out the top five, respectively. The Tide's rating of 70.59 is No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index released May 11. Arizona State (70.56) tops the Golfweek rankings followed by the Crimson Tide, Stanford (70.66), UCLA (70.80) and Florida (70.82).
Alabama Wins NCAA Athens Regional
The Alabama women's golf team posted a 7-under par 857 (289-284-284) to win the 2017 NCAA Athens Regional and clinch its 12th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Women's Golf Championships.
Sophomores Cheyenne Knight (71-71-69/211) and Lauren Stephenson (69-70-72/211) tied for second place at 5-under par. Freshman Kristen Gillman (73-70-71/214) tied for fifth at 2-under par. Senior Mia Landegren (76-73-72/221) tied for 24th at 5-over par and junior Lakareber Abe (80-74-77/231) tied for 67th at 15-over par.
Alabama Dominates SEC Postseason Awards
Sophomore Cheyenne Knight was named the SEC Player of the Year, while freshman Kristen Gillman was named the league's Freshman of the Year. Knight, Gillman and sophomore Lauren Stephenson also earned first team All-SEC honors and Gillman was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Senior Cammie Gray was named to the SEC Community Service Team for the second consecutive year.
The All-SEC honor is the second for Knight, who joins Stephanie Meadow (2013, 2014) as the only Crimson Tide women's golfers to earn SEC Player of the Year honors. Gillman joins Jennifer Kirby (2010), Meadow (2011) and Emma Talley (2013) as the fourth SEC Freshman of the Year in program history.
The first-team selections for Knight, Gillman and Stephenson marks the third time that Alabama has landed three golfers on the All-SEC first team. Camilla Lennarth, Stephanie Meadow and Brooke Pancake were honored in 2011 while Meadow, Pancake and Jennifer Kirby were selected in 2012.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaWGolf, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
