May 9, 2009
Freshman Marina Alex advanced to the NCAA Championship in Owens Mill, Md., May 19-22 after finishing in a tie for fifth place at the NCAA East Regionals in Gainesville, Fla. Unfortunately, the rest of her Commodore teammates will not be joining her after the team finished in 11th place as a team at the tournament. The top eight teams advance and the top two individuals not associated with the eight advancing teams move on to the national tournament.
Alex will join UCF’s Stephanie Connelly as the two individuals that will move on to the national tournament. The freshman from Wayne, N.J., tallied a 214 (69-72-73) in her first NCAA regional competition, and became the first Vanderbilt player to qualify as an individual at the NCAA Championships. Alex’s fifth place finish also marked the best performance by a Commodore at a regional since Jacqui Concolino won the Central Regional in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the spring of 2007.
The Commodores entered the final day of play in a tie for third overall, but struggled on Saturday to close out their bid to nationals. Alex and senior Jacqui Concolino posted the team’s best scores of the day with a pair of three-over par 73’s, and Vanderbilt counted an 82 from junior Brooke Goodwin and an 81 from freshman Andrea Messer to give them a team score of 309 on the day. VU ended the tournament with a total of 894 (286-299-309), five strokes back of eighth-place Georgia, the final qualifying team to advance to Maryland.
For the tournament, Concolino ended her Vanderbilt career with a 223 (77-73-73), which tied her for 40th place. Messer finished in a tie for 63rd place with a 228 (69-78-81) and Goodwin carded a 229 (71-76-82), which tied her for 67th. Sophomore Megan Grehan tallied a 254 (84-86-84, 105) in the three-day event.
“I really never imagined having to count two scores in the 80’s,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “It’s really disappointing, and our team is really hurting right now. But, we are really thrilled for Marina. She hit a lot of good shots today and even had a lot of good putts not drop for her. Her experience getting to nationals will really help her and our program as we move forward.”
