VU women's golf back in NCAAs

April 25, 2018

It’s official – the Vanderbilt women’s golf team are NCAA postseason bound.

The Commodores will begin their quest for the 2018 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at the Tallahassee Regional. The 54-hole regional is scheduled May 7-9 at Don Veller Seminole Golf Club.

The Commodores will look to finish among the top six teams at Tallahassee, and advance to the NCAA Championship May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.

The Commodores are back in familiar territory after missing NCAA postseason play last year. This year will mark Vanderbilt’s 19th all-time appearance in NCAA regionals. They have participated in 17 of the last 18 NCAA tournaments.

The Commodores have qualified for NCAA postseason play in 11 of 12 years during Greg Allen’s tenure in Nashville.

“I’m happy for our players, our staff and the many people who support the Commodore women’s golf program,” Allen said Wednesday immediately after the NCAA Selection Show on the Golf Channel. “I’m proud of what we have achieved this year with a very young squad and looking forward to what lies ahead in the coming weeks.

“This is an exciting time of the season because you prepare all year for the postseason and you really want to see all the hard work pay off for the girls. It’s also going to be a new experience for this squad because only Courtney (Zeng) has ever participated in an NCAA regional,” Allen added.

The Commodores will be the sixth-seeded team at Tallahassee. They will compete against No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Furman, No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Washington, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 7 Florida State, No. 8 Clemson, No. 9 Georgia, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 11 UNLV, No. 12 Kennesaw State, No. 13 Denver, No. 14 Coastal Carolina, No. 15 Missouri, No. 16 College of Charleston, No. 17 Richmond and No. 18 Albany.

The Commodores’ postseason lineup will include Zeng, sophomore Abbey Carlson, and freshmen Morgan Baxendale, Virginia Green and Louise Yu.

In Vanderbilt’s 18 previous NCAA regional appearances, they have advanced to nine NCAA Championships, including most recently in 2013. The Commodores’ best finish at the national championships is a fifth-place result in 2004.

The Commodores have captured two previous NCAA regional team titles, winning the 2014 East Regional played at Southwood Golf Course in Tallahassee, and the 2004 Central Regional in Normal, Ill.

Two former Commodore standouts have claimed medalist honors at NCAA regional competitions: Jennifer Hahn in 2014 and Jacqui Concolino in 2007.

Vanderbilt will be paired with No. 4 Washington and No. 5 Wake Forest in the first round at the par 72 Seminole Golf Club.