Campbell NCAA Central Regional Notes Package
NORMAN, OKLA. – For the 16th time in the last 21 years, Campbell University is heading to NCAA women's golf post-season play. Ranked No.-34 in the latest Golfstat NCAA head-to-head rating after a runner-up finish in the Big South Championship, Campbell earned an at-large berth to play in the NCAA Central Regional, May 9-11, at Norman, Okla.
Seeded 12th, Campbell will be paired with No.-28 Iowa State and No.-33 Southern Methodist for the first two rounds. The teams will start from the 10th tee Thursday at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) and from the first tee Friday at 11:50 a.m. Saturday's pairings will be determined by 36-hole scores.
Live scoring will be available on-line at Golfstat.com.
"We are certainly excited about the opportunity," said head coach John Crooks. "Oklahoma is a good fit for us. The weather is similar to what we're used to, it's not a big time change, and the grasses are what we're used to. Also, the fact that we're seeded in top half of the field is a tremendous advantage and honor. We will be competing with the best under the same conditions at the same time, which gives you the best opportunity to be competitive. It will just be a matter of going out, getting comfortable with our surroundings, playing well and hopefully moving on to the national championship at Georgia."
The top eight teams and two individuals not on the qualifying squads will advance to the NCAA Championship, May 21-24 at the University of Georgia Golf Club in Athens. Last year, Campbell finished 10th at the NCAA East Regional, just missing its first berth in the national championship since 1997.
The 24-school Central Regional field includes 16 teams ranked among Golfstat's top 50. Third-ranked Duke, fourth-ranked and host Oklahoma and No.-9 Florida are the top three seeds. Washington (10), Arizona State (15), UC Davis (16), Texas Tech (21), NC State (22), Michigan State (27), Iowa State, SMU and Campbell round out the upper half of the field.
Each of Campbell's five starters ranks in the top-10 among Big South players in stroke average. Sophomore Lisbeth Brooks is 2nd (74.27), while Brooke Bellomy (75.12) and Teresa Urquizu are tied for 4th. Big South Freshman of the Year Tahnia Ravnjak is 6th (75.57), while 2012 Big South player of the year Kaylin Yost is 9th (76.12). All five were named to the 2013 all-conference team.
Now in his 22nd year in charge of the Lady Camels, Crooks has led his team to 70 tournament victories, second only to Dan Brooks of Duke (113) among active Division I women's coaches. Crooks has been named conference coach of the year 16 times, including 12 times on the women's side.
Campbell has placed among the top two teams in its conference tournament championship 19 times in the last 21 years. CU won the 2012, 1994 and 1993 Big South Conference championships (and was runner-up in 1992 and 2013). In 17 years as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (1995-2011), Campbell won a league-record eight titles and finished 2nd on seven occasions.
CU has won 6 of its 11 tournaments in 2012-2013, including victories at the Golfweek Program Challenge, Fighting Camel Classic, Palmetto Intercollegiate, Kiawah Island Classic, JMU Eagle Landing Invitational and Hoya Invitational. The school record for tournament wins in a year is 8 (1997-98)
Campbell leads the nation in birdies with 378 through 11 events. Texas Tech is 2nd (375). Brooks is tied for 25th in the nation with 80 birdies, while Yost is tied for 44th (76).
CU stands in a tie for 8th nationally with 7 eagles, is 15th in par-3 scoring (3.20), 17th in sub-par strokes per round (2.38), 19th in par-4 scoring (4.24), 20th in average score (75.28) and 21st in score vs. par (+3.55).
Brooks is ranked No.-94 in the latest Golfstat Cup national rating with a 74.27 stroke average. She is 14th in the nation in par-3 scoring (3.06) and tied for 25th with 80 birdies through 33 rounds.
Urquizu is 164th in the Golfstat Cup (75.12) and tied for 3rd nationally with 4 eagles. Bellomy is tied with Urquizu for 164th in the Golfstat Cup (75.12). Ravnjak is No.-213 in the Golfstat Cup and leads all Big South Conference freshmen with a 75.57 stroke average.
The 2013 NCAA Women's Golf Central Regional will be played at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. The par-72 course will total 6,298 yards for the event.
Opened in 1951, Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club was designed by Perry Maxwell. Extensive revisions were made by Robert Cupp in 1996. The greens and bunkers were resurfaced in 2007 and Tripp Davis redesigned the fifth hole in 2010. Before it became the grounds of the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, the land was home to a U.S. Navy recreational facility, which served as an annex to the Norman Naval Air Station starting in the mid-1940s.
In June 2013, the club will host the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, marking the second USGA championship conducted at the club. In 2009, the U.S. Amateur Public Links men's event was held at the site. The club has also served as the site of the 1997 and 2012 NCAA men's regionals, the 1997 Oklahoma State Amateur Championship and the 1998 and 2010 Big 12 Women's Championships.
