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Women’s Golf Opens NCAA Championship Play Tuesday 5-17-04 5/17/2004 OPELIKA, Ala. — Coming off Southeastern Conference and NCAA Central Region championships, Vanderbilt’s third-rated women’s golf team opens play Tuesday at the NCAA Championships. The Commodores have had a record-smashing season with five team tournament victories, four individual titles and the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year but for the success to continue their margin of error has been reduced. Coach Martha Richards Freitag has a team of just four players instead of the customary five after May Wood was found to be academically ineligible for this event last week. (Normally a team plays five people with the highest score of the day not counted in team totals) Vanderbilt’s foursome is still a very formidable one with senior all-SEC performers Sarah Jacobs and Courtney Wood and quality freshmen Chris Brady, also an all-SEC performer, and Kristen Svicarovich. While the Black and Gold would certainly have been among the top favorites with its customary lineup, it could still be a factor in this 24-team field. “Our goal is always to win,” Freitag says, “and this championship is no different. Our team has shown mental toughness and maturity all season and we have had enough success to know that if we play our game we will still be a factor.” The championship is being held on the Lake Course at Grand National, home of the Auburn Tigers. The Lake Course has hosted many major championships since 1994, including last fall’s NCAA Preview Tournament. Vanderbilt had one of its higher finishes of the year in seventh place, breaking in its two freshmen in the process. No. 1 rated Duke is considered the favorite in this event. The Commodores arrived on site Saturday and played practice rounds Sunday and Monday. They will be paired Tuesday with the East Region champion Duke and the West Region champ UCLA with tee times running from 12:30 to 1:10 p.m. Fans can follow the action each day on golfstat.com |
