May 07, 2008
No. 19-ranked Texas A&M will be looking for its fourth NCAA Championship berth in the last five years when the Aggies tee off in the NCAA Women's Golf Central Regional on Thursday at the University of Texas Golf Club.
The 54-hole event continues through Saturday on the par-72, 6,301-yard course. Admission is free and live scoring is available online at www.golfstat.com.
The No. 8-seeded Aggies are making their eighth straight regional appearance. A&M finished 13th last year in Baton Rouge, La., and did not advance to the national tournament for the first time since 2003.
A total of 21 teams will compete in each of the three regionals with the top eight advancing to the NCAA Women's Golf Championship May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M. The East Regional will be in Athens, Ga., and the West Regional will be in Lincoln, Calif.
Other teams in the Central Regional Field (with seeding) are UCLA (1), Purdue (2), Alabama (3), Denver (4), Kent State (5), Pepperdine (6), LSU (7), Notre Dame (9), Texas (10), TCU (11), Florida State (12), North Carolina State (13), East Tennessee State (14), Texas Tech (15), Washington (16), Nebraska (17), Harvard (18), Texas State (19), Illinois State (20) and Farleigh Dickinson (21).
In its first season under Head Coach Trelle McCombs, A&M has had a strong spring season with four top-four finishes in the last five tournaments, including runner-up performances at the Big 12 Championship and the Central District Invitational.
A&M is led by a trio of All-Big 12 performers -- freshman Sarah Zwartynski, sophomore Danielle McVeigh and junior Lauren Johnson. Sophomore Ashley Freeman and senior Miranda Orr complete the lineup.
Zwartynski leads the Aggies with a 75.74 stroke average and has posted seven top-25 finishes in nine tournaments, including a tie for fourth at the Big 12 Championship. Her scoring average is the second best by a freshman in school history. Golfweek ranks Zwartynski No. 55 nationally.
McVeigh has a 76.36 average but has been slowed by injuries this spring. An All-Big 12 pick as a freshman, she placed in the top 20 in the first four events of the year, but withdrew from the Central District Invitational and the Texas A&M "Mo"morial. Ranked No. 49 by Golfqweek, McVeigh tied for fourth at the Big 12 Championship for the second straight season.
Johnson is appearing in her third straight NCAA Regional and helped the Aggies to a tie for sixth as a freshman in 2006. Ranked No. 91 by Golfweek, Johnson is third on the team in scoring at 76.52 and has had five top-20 finishes. She finished seventh at the Central District Invitational in February.
Freeman averages 76.85 and has had four top-25 finishes, including a fifth-place effort at the Central District Invitational. She tied for 19th at the Big 12 tournament. Orr averages 80.47 and has played in five of nine events.