UC Davis Competes At NCAA Championship In First Division I Season
The new kid on the block made quite a first impression.
Competing in its first official season as a Division I and Big West member, and third season as a program, the UC Davis women's golf team sent a clear message to its fellow competitors - the Aggies are here to stay.
The Aggies capped off an outstanding 2008 season with an appearance in the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., just one of 24 teams to qualify for the prestigious event. UC Davis finished 21st in the final standings with three freshmen in the starting lineup.
Paving the way to the NCAA Finals took a memorable performance at the NCAA West Regionals for the Aggie women. With only eight teams advancing from regional play, UC Davis outdueled Stanford and Ohio State in a three-team playoff to earn the eighth and final bid on the final day of the 54-hole tournament at Lincoln Hills Golf Club. The Aggies opened the 21-team event in a tie for 15th after the first round, but improved to ninth place after 36 holes. UCD then shot 1-under par in the playoff while the traditional powerhouse Cardinal and Buckeyes recorded 1-over totals, sending the Aggies on their magical run to Albuquerque.
UCD was the only unranked team to advance from the NCAA West Regional. The Aggies beat out seven other ranked squads in the tournament.
The Aggies received an at-large bid to the regional round following a second place finish at the Big West Championships. After playing on the Tijeras Creek Golf Club layout as a non-scoring team in the previous two seasons, the Aggies competed for keeps this time around. UC Davis finished a close second, seven shots in back of UC Irvine, which wrapped up its fourth consecutive league title.
UC Irvine tied former Big West member New Mexico State for the second-longest championship streak in conference history at four. The Anteaters shot the lowest round of the tournament at 295 in the second round to help propel them to the victory. UCI senior Kim Lorenzana defeated UCD's Chelsea Stelzmiller, the 2008 Big West Player and Freshman of the Year, on the third playoff hole for individual medalist honors. The two golfers were tied at 6-over par 222 after 54 holes of regulation play.
Anteater senior Selanee Henderson concluded a decorated career by receiving first team All-Big West distinction for the fourth straight year. She became just the third player in Big West history to achieve that feat, joining San Jose State's Vibeke Stensrud (1993-96) and former UCI player Angela Won, who earned the honor from 2003-06.
UC Irvine Repeats As Big West Champion, Advances To Nationals
UC Irvine thrived this season with a second straight Big West men's golf championship, seventh regional appearance in eight years, and a trip to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2001.
The Anteaters missed the cut at nationals by not finishing among the top 15 teams following three rounds of play on the Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. UCI was in 20th place with a 54-hole total of 919 as the top 15 squads completed one additional round on the final round of the competition. Juniors Sean Shahi and Tim Cha, and sophomore John Chin all finished with 54-hole totals of 229 to lead the UCI contingent in the 30-team event.
UCI arrived on collegiate golf's biggest stage thanks to a monumental effort in the NCAA East Regional. Playing in its 10th regional overall, and for the first time in a regional other than the West, the Anteaters excelled with a third place finish on the Council Fire Golf Club course in Chattanooga, Tenn. UCI shot a 16-under par 836 over 54 holes to clinch its highest regional finish since 2001, when the Anteaters came in third at the West Regional. The exceptional showing was punctuated by junior Tim Cha's 7-under par 64, the lowest round of all the competitors on the final day of play.
In finishing third overall, the Anteaters finished ahead of 14 teams ranked higher in the nation's top 50. UCI earned its third trip to the NCAA Championship on the heels of appearances in 1992 and 2001. UCI's top four scorers carded rounds of par or better eight times in 12 rounds overall.
The Big West Championship came down to a two-team duel between UCI and first-year Big West member UC Davis. Both teams were tied at 5-under par 571 after 36 holes. However, the Anteaters pulled away in the final round by shooting 10 strokes under par and finished the tournament with a 15-under total of 849. The Aggies didn't wilt under the pressure, carding a final round 284 to finish six strokes behind the champion Anteaters. UCI finished one-two-three on the final individual leaderboard with Chin earning medalist honors at 9-under 207. His second round 66 was the lowest of the tournament on the Tijeras Creek Golf Club layout.
Cal State Northridge, behind freshman Nick Delio's fifth place individual finish, equaled its best ever showing by placing third at the conference championship. Delio later went on to win the prestigious 97th California Amateur Championship in June.