CU and DU Women Selected for NCAA Regionals

Jon Rizzi

The college golf season is roaring to a conclusion, with the state’s four Division I women’s programs playing in conference championships last week. The universities of Denver and Colorado have extended their seasons into the NCAA Regionals, while the Rams (save for one player) and Bears will start practicing for next season.

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

The University of Denver women’s golf team captured its third consecutive Summit League Championship—and 13^th consecutive overall conference championship—in convincing style.

Led by medalist Jessica Carty, a junior who shot a two-under-par 217, the Pioneers won by an astonishing 52 shots over their closest competitor, South Dakota State.   

The Pioneers’ masterful three-day effort marked the first time all year that the team has had all five players—Carty, Mariell Bruun, Katharina Baratta and Jessica Dreesbeimdieke and Sophie Newlove—finish in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard. 

DU will play in the Baton Rouge Regionals May 5-7 at the University Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Pioneers are ranked 14 in an 18-team field that includes Duke, Florida, Arizona State, Washington, Oregon and South Carolina. The top five advance to Nationals.

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

CU’s women’s golf team recorded the lowest 54-hole score in postseason history en route to a fifth place finish in the 2016 Pac-12 Championships at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, California.

The Buffs posted a team score of 6-over par 294 for a final score of 864 or even-par as the No. 40-ranked team finished ahead of four top 20 schools, capturing their second straight top five finish. The Buffs’ 864 marks only the third time in school history Colorado has finished a 54-hole tournament at or under par.

No. 2 Southern California claimed the conference title over one of the toughest fields in the country as seven teams are ranked in the top 15, including two top five schools—USC being one of them along with No. 4 UCLA.   

Senior Alexis Keating entered the final round in second and finished tied for fifth place in her final Pac-12 Championships with a 6-under par 210, tying her school record she set in last year’s conference event.

Behind her were Brittany Fan (215), Esther Lee (216), Gillian Vance (224) and Natalie Vivaldi (226).

The Buffs will play in the Stanford Regional site May 5-7. They are the ninth-ranked team of 19 in the field. Others include USC, Arkansas, Stanford, Virginia, UNLV, Ohio State and San Diego State.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

Rams freshman Katrina Prendergast finished runner-up at the 2016 Mountain West Championship, concluding the three-day tournament with a 1-over 217. Her performance helped CSU to a sixth-place finish at the Championship.
 
Prendergast’s three-round total was the tied for the fourth-best in Mountain West history by a CSU golfer, becoming one of three Rams to finish the Championship in first or second place.

CSU did not qualify for the NCAA Regionals, which was a disappointment for a team that posted a 297.72 season stroke average, establishing a school record by more than four strokes. This season’s average was nearly seven strokes better than last year’s.  

Prendergast, however, will represent the team as an individual in the NCAA Stanford Regional.

UNIVERSITY of NORTHERN COLORADO

The women’s team tied with the University of Montana for eighth place in the Big Sky Conference Championship at Boulder Creek. Janet Yeo  and Amanda Myers respectively finished tied for 21^st and 25^th.

DIVISION II:

Cha Cha Willhoite and Allie Johnston of Metro State University, Denver, will both compete as individuals May 2-4 in the West Regional at
Brookside Country Club in Stockton, California.

For more information, visit ncaa.com/sports/golf-women

Visit our News page for more Colorado golf news.

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