Vanderbilt to Host NCAA Regional for First Time in Program History

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time in program history, the Vanderbilt women’s golf program will play host to the NCAA Regional Championships.

“We’re super pumped to be hosting a regional — Legends, Franklin and Nashville is a combination that’s second to none, and I love the opportunity to show it off,” head coach Greg Allen said. “The Legends staff does an amazing job hosting college tournaments and they’ve done a great job putting this together on such short notice. And none of this would be possible without Virginia Green from our staff, as well as our volunteers coordinator David Maples.”

The Dores were selected to continue postseason play for the fourth consecutive season and 22nd time in program history after they were announced as one of 12 teams to compete in the NCAA Franklin Regional.

The three-day, 54-hole tournament will be played May 9-11 at Vanderbilt Legends Club – a first in the history of the program. Vandy also previously hosted the 2012 NCAA Championships at the Vanderbilt Legends Club, where the Dores finished 11th overall.

The Dores are the No. 6 seed in the 12-team region that features four teams inside the top 25 of the latest Golfweek rankings.

ACC champion and No. 4 Wake Forest is the top seed in the regional followed by SEC foes No. 9 Alabama and No. 18 Texas A&M in the second and third seeds, respectively. No. 21 Duke and Pac-12 runner-up Oregon State round out the fourth and fifth seeds as well.

The qualifying individuals for the NCAA Franklin Regional (in order of seeding) are Sera Hasegawa (ETSU), Mikayla Bardwell (Tennessee), Tara Bettle (UNCG), Dorota Zalewska (Chattanooga), Hollie Muse (ETSU) and Payton Carter (Murray State).

The Dores are looking to build off their postseason performance from 2019, when they won the team title at the NCAA Auburn Regional to qualify for their 10th appearance at the NCAA Championships. Then-freshman Auston Kim won individual medalist honors at 6-under par. During the 2021 campaign, Vandy placed eighth in the NCAA Columbus Regional. Fifth-year senior Louise Yu and junior Celina Sattelkau qualified to the 2021 NCAA Championships as individuals.

Vandy is coming off a quarterfinalist finish in the match-play portion of the Southeastern Conference Championships, joining Auburn and South Carolina as the only three teams to advance to the match play every season since the format was instituted in 2018. In stroke-play, Kim tied for sixth at 3-under par for her best individual finish at SECs. She leads the team with a 72.48 scoring average for the season and posted four top-10 finishes.

Sattelkau is another player to watch during regional action after holding a 73.65 stroke average and finishing third on the national stage in the 10th edition of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate from Feb. 28-March 2.

“It’s very exciting for our team to play a regional event here at home, yet for now, it doesn’t mean anything other than it took out the suspense for today,” said Allen. “We know everyone will show up ready to play. I like what we’ve been doing the past couple weeks and feel like we got some momentum rolling at the SEC Championships. We still believe our best golf is in front of us.”

“I’d love for as many fans to come out and support our young ladies so those other 11 teams know they’re stepping on our turf.”

In November, the NCAA had announced the move to a six-regional format effective with the spring championship. Each of the six regional sites will now feature 12 teams and six individuals, with the top four teams and top two individuals (not on an advancing team) qualifying for the championships, which will be held for the second straight year at Grayhawk Golf Club (Raptor Course) in Scottsdale, Arizona, from May 20-25.

With the move to six regional sites from the previous four-site format, 72 teams still qualify for regional play, with the number of individuals not on an advancing team increasing from 24 to 36. The other five regional sites are The Championship Course at UNM (Albuquerque, New Mexico), University of Michigan Golf Course (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Karsten Creek Golf Club (Stillwater, Oklahoma), Seminole Legacy Golf Club (Tallahassee, Florida) and Stanford Golf Course (Stanford, California).