Play begins Thursday in Gainesville, Fla.

May 7, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –

CAROLINA IN THE NCAA REGIONALS: The Tar Heels’ participation in the 2009 NCAA East Regional marks their 16th appearance in the NCAA Regionals. Carolina has played in the NCAA East Regional 15 times since the regional format was instituted in women’s golf in 1993 – 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Carolina’s lone other appearance was in the NCAA West Regional in 2008. In the Tar Heels’ 15 previous Regional appearances, Carolina’s top performance came in 1993 when it finished in fourth place and Tar Heel Kimberly Byham won the individual title by two strokes with a 213 total after firing a 69 in the final round. Tar Heel Meaghan Francella was the individual medalist at the 2004 NCAA East Regional with a seven-under-par 209 total.

The Tar Heels advanced on to the NCAA Championship from the East Regional in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2007. Carolina has been to the NCAA Championship 11 times – 1982, 1984, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2007.

•THIS YEAR’S EAST REGIONAL: This year’s NCAA East Regional will be played at the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Twenty-one teams and three individuals will compete in the three-day, 54-hole East Regional May 7-9 for the chance to move on to the NCAA Championship to be played May 19-22 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. Eight teams and the top two individuals not on those eight teams will advance to the NCAA Championship from each of the three regionals — the East Regional in Gainesville, Fla., the Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio, and the West Regional in Tempe, Ariz.

The teams competing in this year’s NCAA East Regional are as follows (listed in order of seed): Virginia, Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina, Duke, Denver, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Tulane, Florida, East Carolina, Mississippi, South Carolina, Furman, Charleston, Florida State, Central Florida, Coastal Carolina, Stetson and Jackson State. The three individuals receiving bids to the East Regional are Susannah Aboff of Princeton, Julie Potter of Missouri and Jessica Hollandsworth of Maryland.

•CAROLINA IN THE POLLS: Carolina is ranked 12th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, 15th in the NGCA (National Golf Coaches Association) Coaches Poll and 10th in the Golfstat rankings.

•CAROLINA’S SPRING CAMPAIGN: Carolina has carded four top-five finishes in five tournaments this spring. Carolina was the runner-up at the ACC Championship played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. The Tar Heels finished fourth at the Bryan Park Collegiate and tied for fourth at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic which was shortened to a one-round tournament due to two days of pouring rain. Freshman Catherine O’Donnell was the low Tar Heel at the ACC Championship where she tied for seventh and the Bryan National Collegiate where she placed fifth. O’Connell and teammate Kate Thomas tied for fifth at the Liz Murphey Classic. Carolina tied for fifth place at the LSU Golf Classic as freshman Allie White tied for seventh place. In the first event of the spring campaign, Carolina placed ninth at the UCF Challenge where O’Donnell and Sydney Crane tied for 28th place.

•CAROLINA’S FALL CAMPAIGN: Carolina finished in the top three in all four of its fall events. The Tar Heels were the runners-up at the Tar Heel Invitational as freshman Catherine O’Donnell captured her first individual win of her young collegiate career (tie with two other players) and senior Lauren Hunt tied for 10th. The Tar Heels tied for second at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship as three Tar Heels carded top-20 finishes – Sydney Crane tied for eighth, Allie White tied for 15th and Kate Thomas tied for 19th. In the first event of the year, the Cougar Classic, the Tar Heels placed third as Crane and White tied for fourth place. Carolina tied for third at The Landfall Tradition as a trio of Tar Heels finished in the top 20 – White tied for 12th, Thomas tied for 15th and Hunt tied for 19th.

•O’DONNELL AND WHITE NAMED TO ALL-ACC TEAM: Catherine O’Donnell and Allie White, both freshmen, were selected to the 2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Golf Team. O’Donnell was chosen the league’s Freshman of the year.

Joining O’Donnell and White on this year’s squad are Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee; Florida State’s Caroline Westrup; Maryland’s Jessica Hollandsworth; NC State’s Lauren Doughtie; Virginia’s Calle Nielson, Jennie Arseneault and Whitney Neuhauser and Wake Forest’s Nannette Hill and Natalie Sheary.

Blumenherst, a senior from Duke, and Sheary, a sophomore from Wake Forest, were named Co-ACC Players of the Year. Sheary was the individual medalist at this year’s ACC Championship while Blumenherst was named to the team for the fourth straight year. Dianne Dailey of Wake Forest was chosen the ACC Coach of the Year, her third such honor.

University of North Carolina Women’s Golf