Red Flash Women’s Golf Headed to Texas for NCAA Regionals
LORETTO, Pa. (May 1, 2006) – After claiming its record sixth Northeast Conference Championship on Sunday, the Saint Francis women’s golf team will now travel to College Station, Texas to compete in the NCAA Central Regional to be held at the Traditions Club at Texas A&M from May 11-13.
The Red Flash are among 21 teams selected to participate in the three-round NCAA Central Regional, a region highlighted by national powers Duke, Southern California, Pepperdine, Florida, and the host Aggies. The top-8 teams and top-2 individual performers from the East, Central, and West Regionals advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio from May 23-26.
“We are excited for the opportunity to play against some of the best women’s golf programs in the country,” said first-year head coach Chris Cascino. “It will obviously be a challenge to qualify for the NCAA Championships, but we look forward to representing Saint Francis and the Northeast Conference. We had an all-around team effort on Sunday to win the title and are peaking at the right time.”
Saint Francis erased Monmouth’s nine-shot first-round lead and outlasted runner-up Long Island by two strokes to take home the conference hardware for the fourth time in the last five years on Sunday. Sophomore Samantha Milosh (Aliquippa, Pa.) blistered Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course on the final day, firing a tournament single-round record 3-under par 69 to post a two-day 6-over 150 and claim the individual championship.
Junior Megan Schaeffer (Richland, Pa.) recorded a two-round 22-over 166 to finish in eighth place and garner her third consecutive all-conference nod.
This marks the Red Flash women’s golf program’s fourth appearance in NCAA Regional competition. Saint Francis last competed in regional play in 2004, finishing 21st out of 21 teams at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. The Red Flash were placed in the Central Regional in 2002, finishing 21st at Forest Akers West Golf Club in East Lansing, Mich.
The full 21-team field for the Central Regional consists of Duke, Southern California, Pepperdine, Texas A&M, Florida, Oklahoma State, Kent State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Southern Methodist, Texas Christian, Missouri, Baylor, Tulsa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Texas, Birmingham Southern, Jacksonville State, Jackson State, and Saint Francis.
Live scoring for the NCAA Central Regional can be found at the following web address at the commencement of play on Thursday, May 11:
http://www.golfstat.com/cgi-bin/scrcrdsoft_redrct.asp?tournid=W0871