May 8, 2010
The Texas A&M women's golf team again showed its final round moxie as the Aggies rallied to an NCAA Championships bid with an eighth place finish at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday at the Stanford Golf Course.
Two weeks ago, the Aggies rallied from 11 strokes down in the final round to win the Big 12 Championship by a single shot. On Saturday, the Aggies jumped from a ninth-place tie with three teams into sole possession of eighth place to punch their ticket to Wilmington, N.C. for the 2010 NCAA Championships.
“This is something that we have been focusing on all season long,” said Aggie golf coach Trelle McCombs, who will be taking her second A&M squad to the national meet. “The girls have been working hard, and qualifying for NCAAs is the fruits of their labor. It will be an honor to represent Texas A&M at the NCAA Championships.”
With an early tee time on Saturday, the Aggies shot an 18-over 302 and then had to wait for the majority of the field to finish their rounds. When the dust had cleared the Aggies placed eighth at 51-over par behind Arizona (+24), UCLA (+33), Texas (+38), Alabama (+38), Virginia (+42), Stanford (+43) and San Jose State (+48). Only the top eight teams from each region are set to the national meet.
“We always set out with winning on our minds, but qualifying for the NCAAs was our biggest goal this week,” McCombs said. “Regional play was extremely challenging at all three tournaments, and I'm glad we were up to the challenge.”
The Aggies were paced by junior Sarah Zwartynski, who continued her hot play with an even-par 71 and finished in a tie for 12th place at eight-over. Zwartynski's 71 was the second-lowest round of the day.
“Sarah really played well the last two days, and finally got some putts to fall for her today,” McCombs said. “She has really grown as a golfer and competitor. She was three-under after 15 and ran into some trouble but was able to get her score back to even par, which was crucial for us.”
Senior Ashley Freeman contributed a three-over 74 and placed in a tie for 49th at 16-over. Freshman Julia Boland and freshman Sarah Beth Davis shot scores of eight-over 79, with Boland placing in a tie for 36th at 13-over and Davis placing in a tie for 44th at 15-over.