Campbell seeded 20th in NCAA Women's Golf East Regional
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Big South Conference champion Campbell University has been seeded 20th in the NCAA Women's Golf East Regional. The 54-hole event will be played May 10-12 at the Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pa.
Campbell was one of 72 schools in Division I to earn a trip to NCAA post-season play. The top eight teams and two individuals (not from a qualifying team) from each of three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be held Mar. 22-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
Ranked 58th nationally in the latest Golfstat NCAA head-to-head ratings, Campbell placed all five golfers among the top 13 individuals and won the Big South's automatic berth after claiming a seven-stroke victory over second place Coastal Carolina Apr. 9-11 at The Patriot at Grand Harbor in Ninety Six, S.C.
Guided by Big South coach of the year John Crooks, Campbell won three team titles and finished among the top five 10 times in 11 outings during the 2011-12 campaign. In addition to the Big South title – Campbell's 11th league crown in 21 seasons under Crooks' watch – The Camels won the Xavier LPGA International Invitational (Oct. 7-9) and the Fighting Camel Classic (Oct. 31-Nov. 1).
Campbell produced Big South titles in 1993 and 1994 before winning 8 championships as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (from 1995-2011). On April 11, Campbell secured its first league trophy since claiming the 2007 Atlantic Sun title exactly five years ago to the day.
The triumph marked the 64th women's tournament win for Crooks, who stands just one victory behind Linda Vollstedt of Arizona State (65 from 1980-2001) on the all-time NCAA Division I women's golf tourney coaching victories list.
Since 1992, Campbell has finished either first (11 times) or second (8) in its league championship 19 times.
Big South player of the year Kaylin Yost tied for 2nd (73-72-76—221) at the conference championship and lowered her stroke average to a league-leading 75.07 over 28 rounds. A sophomore from Pembroke Pines, Fla., Yost has produced five top-10 individual finishes this year, including her first collegiate win at the James Madison/Eagle Landing Invitational (Mar. 9-11).
Ranked No.-153 nationally in the latest Golfstat Cup listing, Yost produced top-5 individual showings at the Fighting Camel Classic (3rd), Miami Hurricane Invitational (T4th) and Big South Championship in addition to her victory at Eagle Landing Golf Club in Orange Park, Fla., where she shot a collegiate career-low 67 in the opening round.
The lone senior on the 2011-12 Campbell squad, Michelle Koh registered her second-straight top-5 showing in a conference tournament by finishing fourth (71-76-75—222) at the Big South Championship. A product of Kuantan, Malaysia, Koh is ranked No.-193 in the Golfstat Cup and leads all Big South women's golfers with six top-10 finishes this year.
Koh stands third among Big South golfers in scoring average (75.48). She placed second at the Xavier LPGA International Invitational and 6th at the Golfweek Program Challenge in addition to a 7th-place showing at the Hurricane Invitational, 9th-place finish at the Palmetto Intercollegiate and 10th-place effort at the Fighting Camel Classic. She matched her season-low round of 71 on the opening day of the Big South Championship.
Koh is the lone player on the Camel roster with NCAA post-season experience. She tied for 65th (75-78-74—227) in the 2010 NCAA East Regional.
A pair of first-year players also figured heavily into Campbell's success through the Big South tournament. Lisbeth Brooks (76.0) and Brooke Bellomy (76.68) have combined to rank 13th nationally in Golfstat's Freshman Impact rating.
Brooks, who hails from Waunakee, Wisc., rates fourth among Big South leaders in stroke average. The Big South freshman of the year has produced three top-10 individual finishes, including a 7th-place effort (78-75-74—227) at the Big South Championship.
She was Campbell's low individual (T8th) at the Georgia State John Kirk Lady Panther Intercollegiate (Mar. 26-27) and also tied for 10th last fall at the Fighting Camel Classic. Brooks matched Yost's Big South-leading low round this year (67) on the second day of the Golfweek Program Challenge.
Freshman Brooke Bellomy tied for 13th (82-77-75—234) at the Big South Championship, but stands 8th among league scoring leaders (76.68). The product of Ona, W.Va., earned a pair of top-10 showings during the 2011-12 campaign.
Bellomy produced a 4th-place tie at the Hurricane Invitational (70-74-82—226), where she recorded her collegiate low score in the opening round. She tied for 6th at the Xavier LPGA Invitational last fall.
Junior Teresa Urquizu finished 8th (72-84-72—228) at the Big South Championship, where she garnered her third top-10 of the year. A native of San Sebastian, Spain, Urquizu ranks 10th in scoring average (77.13) among Big South players and has shot a season-low 72 four times on the year.
In addition to her showing at the Big South event, Urquizu tied for sixth at LPGA International and was runner-up at the Fighting Camel Classic.
Yost, Koh, Brooks and Urquizu were all named to the 10-golfer Big South all-conference team.
NCAA East Regional
State College, Pa. / Penn State GC Blue Course
May 10-12, 2012
Participating Teams: (automatic qualifiers conferences in parenthesis)
2. Arizona State
3. Duke (Atlantic Coast)
4. Texas A&M
7. Oklahoma State
8. South Carolina
9. Michigan State (Big Ten)
13. Central Florida
14. Wake Forest
16. San Diego State
17. Kent State (Mid-American)
19. Augusta State
20. Campbell (Big South)
21. Chattanooga (Southern)
22. Oral Roberts (Summit)
23. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley)
24. LIU Brooklyn (Northeast)
1. Fanny Cnops, UNC Greensboro
2. Charlotte Lorentzen, Georgia State
3. Kelly Shon, Princeton
4. Katie Mundy, Florida International
5. Michelle Piyapattra, Columbia
6. Laura Wearn, Furman