April 26, 2010
The 20th-ranked University of New Mexico women’s golf team will participate in the 2010 NCAA Central Regional next week, the NCAA Division I women’s golf committee announced today. Competition is May 6-8 at the Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind., which is south of Indianapolis. Indiana University will serve as host. Live stats will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
This marks the 18th consecutive year New Mexico has qualified for postseason competition, or every year since regional play began in 1993. The Lobos gained the automatic berth earlier this month by winning their third straight Mountain West Conference title.
“We played in the Central Regional last year and advanced to the NCAA Championships,” said head coach Jill Trujillo. “Obviously, that’s the goal again. We like our chances.”
Traveling to the regional for Trujillo are seniors Britney Choy and Jodi Ewart, sophomores Rebecca Hellbom and Sarah Salvo and freshman Bethany Buchner. Ewart is UNM’s top golfer with a scoring average of 71.65. She ranks No. 6 in the nation in the latest GolfStat.com poll. Hellbom is No. 75 at 74.38.
Joining the Lobos at the Central Regional are seven ranked teams in the April 21 GolfStat.com poll: No. 2 Arizona State, No. 5 Southern Cal, No. 8 Purdue, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 14 Georgia, No. 17 Denver and No. 23 Florida State. Also competing are Baylor, Detroit, Illinois State, Indiana, Jackson State, Kent State, Louisville, Murray State, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, San Diego State and Tulsa.
The NCAA Women’s Golf Championships is divided into three regional sites. Each regional has 21 teams, with the top eight teams in each region advancing to the finals.
The Lobos are seeking their 15th trip to the NCAA Championships. The 2010 championships are May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. UNC Wilmington is the host.
UNM finished 19th at the 2009 NCAA Championships in Owings Mills, Md.