May 19, 2008
No. 16-ranked Texas A&M begins play in the NCAA Women's Golf Championship on Tuesday at the University of New Mexico's Championship Golf Course.
The Aggies are making their fourth appearance in the last five years in the national finals. A&M finished fifth at the NCAA Central Regional and was second at the Big 12 Championship.
"This is what we've worked for all year -- the opportunity to play for a national championship," A&M Head Coach Trelle McCombs said. "The girls are ready to get out there and compete."
A&M will tee off at 8:10 a.m. (MST) and will be paired with No. 17 Virginia and No. 7 Oklahoma State. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
Other teams in the 24-team field are top-ranked Southern California, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 6 Purdue, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Denver, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Alabama, No. 13 Arizona, No. 14 Wake Forest, No. 21 Texas, No. 24 LSU, Arizona, Furman, TCU, Tulsa, UC Davis and UNLV.
A&M will be represented by freshman Sarah Zwartynski, sophomores Danielle McVeigh and Ashley Freeman, junior Lauren Johnson and senior Miranda Orr.
Zwartynski leads the Aggies with a 75.37 scoring average, the fourth best in A&M history and the second best by a freshman. She finished seventh at the regional after closing with a three-under-par 69.
A&M is making its eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Championship. Led by All-American Shirley Furlong, the 1982 team placed fifth, the highest finish in school history.