INDIANAPOLIS – The University of South Alabama women's golf team will make the first NCAA Regional appearance in program history May 6-8 at the Saugahatchee Country Club in Opelika, Ala., as announced Wednesday by the selection committee. Auburn is the host school for this regional site.
The Jaguars earned an NCAA bid after shooting a season-low 877 at the Sun Belt Conference tournament to claim its first league title since 1997. The team earned five top-five finishes in nine events this season, including wins at the conference championship and the UT Arlington Invitational. USA holds a 299.58 scoring average and had two student-athletes—sophomores Siti Shaari and Julie Hovland—receive first-team all-conference accolades.
The 72 teams and 24 individuals selected to participate in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships will be split between four regional sites. Each regional championship site will feature 18 teams and six individuals, with the top six teams and three individuals from each site advancing to the national championships May 17-22 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
Other regional sites are Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, Washington, hosted by the University of Washington; Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma, hosted by the University of Oklahoma; and Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan, hosted by Michigan State University and Greater Lansing Sports Authority.
The Auburn regional championship site will feature 18 teams, seeded as follows (conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parentheses next to the institution)
1. Duke
2. Vanderbilt
3. Florida State
4. Auburn
5. Virginia
6. Furman (Southern Conference)
7. Clemson
8. Houston (American Athletic Conference)
9. Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun Conference)
10. Alabama
11. Tennessee
12. California
13. Maryland
14. East Carolina
15. Denver (The Summit League)
16. South Alabama (Sun Belt Conference)
17. Albany (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
18. Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference)