May 1, 2006

EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the sixth time in the last seven years, Northwestern's women's golf team has a chance to compete for the NCAA Division I national championship.

The Wildcats, ranked 48th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin index, are one of 63 teams in this year's championships, which begin Thursday, May 11. Three regional tournaments will be conducted May 11-13 to determine the national championships field. Northwestern is one of 21 teams competing in the Central Regional, which is being hosted by Texas A&M University (Traditions Club) in College Station, Texas.

The top eight teams and top two individuals from each region will advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held May 23-26 at Ohio State's Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. Northwestern is seeded 16th among the 21 Central Region teams.

"We are very pleased with the Central site assignment," said head coach Chris Regenberg. "We have played The Traditions course and it is a challenging layout which will separate the field quickly. A player needs to bring their best game to the Traditions because it will severely penalize even the slightest of mistakes and misses.

"Our players know this going in to it and will not be intimidated by it upon arrival like some teams will be. The approach shots require accuracy because the course is heavily bunkered and contoured around the greens. Hopefully we can simulate these conditions in our practice this week and build up our confidence in these difficult types of shots."

Northwestern joins two other Big Ten teams -- Ohio State (No. 8 seed) and Michigan State (No. 9 seed) at the Central Regional. Purdue (No. 3 seed), the Big Ten champion, is the No. 3 seed in the West Region.

The Wildcats, led by Alice Kim (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood), do not have any seniors on their 2005-06 roster. Kim won the Big Ten championship on Sunday -- her first collegiate title. Freshman Jennifer Hong (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy), who has one first-place finish to her credit this year, ranks second in stroke average behind Kim.

Northwestern made NCAA appearances in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. The 2000 team advanced to the NCAA National Championships.

"Our chances of advancing at this site are very good if we get all five players playing smart and confident golf," said Regenberg.

For more information on the Central Regional, visit Texas A&M Central Regional Championships site.

The regional sites and the selected teams and individuals are listed below.

East Regional
The East regional will be played May 11-13 at the Bryan Park Golf Course, Bryan Park, North Carolina, hosted by Wake Forest University. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams:
1. Arizona State
2. Auburn (Southeastern Conference)
3. Tennessee
4. Wake Forest
5. California
6. Vanderbilt
7. Virginia
8. South Carolina
9. LSU
10. Florida State
11. Alabama
12. North Carolina State
13. Augusta State
14. Maryland
15. Furman
16. North Carolina
17. Mississippi State
18. Campbell (Atlantic Sun Conference)
19. College of Charleston (Southern Conference)
20. East Carolina (Conference USA)
21. Yale (Ivy Group)

Individuals:
1. Adrienne White, Louisville
2. Christina Jones, South Florida
3. Michelle Jarman, UNC Wilmington

Central Regional
The Central regional will be played May 11-13 at The Traditions at Texas A&M, College Station, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M University. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams:
1. Duke (Atlantic Coast Conference)
2. Southern California
3. Pepperdine
4. Texas A&M (Big 12 Conference)
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma State
7. Kent State (Mid-American Conference)
8. Ohio State
9. Michigan State
10. SMU
11. TCU
12. Missouri
13. Baylor
14. Tulsa
15. Nebraska
16. Northwestern
17. Texas
18. Birmingham-Southern (Big South Conference)
19. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference)
20. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
21. St. Francis (Pennsylvania) (Northeast Conference)

Individuals:
1. Samantha Richdale, Illinois State
2. Amy Schmucker, Michigan
3. Amanda Costner, Kansas

West Regional
The West regional will be played May 11-13 at the Washington National Golf Club, Auburn, Wash., hosted by the University of Washington. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams:
1. UCLA (Pacific-10 Conference)
2. Georgia
3. Purdue (Big Ten Conference)
4. Arkansas
5. UNLV (Mountain West Conference)
6. Arizona
7. Stanford
8. New Mexico
9. Washington
10. Long Beach State
11. Brigham Young
12. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
13. San Jose State (Western Athletic Conference)
14. Denver (Sun Belt Conference)
15. Oregon State
16. Washington State
17. New Mexico State
18. Georgia State (Colonial Athletic Association)
19. Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent Conference)
20. Bradley (Missouri Valley Conference)
21. Montana (Big Sky Conference)

Individuals:
1. Jessica Potter, San Francisco
2. Renee Skidmore, Idaho
3. Chelsea Benton, Colorado State