Murray State University Athletics
Racers Ready To Take On NCAA Women's Golf Challenge
5/6/2010 7:26:00 PM | Women's Golf
The Murray State Racers took a tour around Otter Creek GC Wednesday for a practice round at the 2010 NCAA Women's Golf Championship Central Regional in Columbus, Ind.
The Racers played in one group with all five players and MSU Head Coach Velvet Milkman.
"This is a great golf course," Milkman said. "It's a Robert Trent Jones design from 1964 and you can tell it has stood the test of time. This will be a great place to play the NCAA regional."
Milkman said going back to the NCAA's for a second straight year means four of her five players have gone through the experience once already, with the exception of Caroline Lagerborg.
"It's great going back to the NCAA's again, because this time most of our team knows what to expect," Milkman said. "I think the experience factor will help us a lot when we start on Thursday, but more than anything, I want our team to enjoy being in the NCAA Championship because it's not easy to get here. I want them to soak it up, it's a very special thing."
One of the keys to playing Otter Creek will be getting the ball in the fairway. A shot out of thick rough is what a player gets if they don't hit the ball straight off the tee. The other is getting the ball in the right spot on the greens as some are very sloped.
When the Racers tee it up Thursday afternoon, they'll be playing on their longest course of the season, Otter Creek plays 6,416 yards and par-72.
MSU, the back to back champion of the Ohio Valley Conference, is the 22nd seed in 24 teams at this regional and will play the first and second rounds with Detroit-Mercy (23rd seed), the champion of the Horizon League and Jackson State (24th seed), the champion of the Southwest Athletic Conference.
Lagerborg has MSU's first tee time from the 10th hole at 12:25 p.m. central time with Morgan Cross (12:36 p.m.), Megan McKinney (12:47 p.m.), Andrea Downer (12:58 p.m.) and Joyce Trus (1:09 p.m.) to follow.
Tee times for the third round will be determined by the scores after 36 holes.
The prize for all teams is to finish in the top-eight and advance to the NCAA Championship Finals May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.
The rest of the NCAA Central Region field is very strong including seven teams ranked in the Golf Week Top-25: Arizona State (No. 2), Baylor, Denver (17), Drake, Florida State, Georgia (13), Illinois State, Indiana (host of the event), Kent State, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State (14), Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico (21), North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue (7), San Diego State, Southern California (4) and Tulsa.
