May 9, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The fifth-ranked Auburn women's golf team carded a 15-over-par 295 in the final round of the 2009 NCAA East Regional Championship to finish 10th overall, missing the cut to advance to the NCAA Championship. Junior Candace Schepperle was the top finisher for the Tigers, posting a 5-over 75 in the final round to finish in a tie for eighth.
Hosted by the University of Florida, the NCAA East Regional was a 54-hole stroke play event held at the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. The par-70 course played at 6,023 yards for the tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, the top eight teams advanced to the NCAA Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
"We are obviously disappointed with how the season ended today," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "But, we had a great season this year and we can take a lot of positives away from it. We have a young team and we did some big things like winning three tournaments in the regular season, along with some great individual accomplishments. I am excited for what the future holds."
Advancing to NCAAs out of the East Regional was top-finisher Denver with a 22-over-par 862. The Pioneers carded the low final round with a 1-under-par 279 on Saturday. Southeastern Conference members Alabama (866) and Tennessee (873) finished second and third, respectively, with top overall seed Virginia in fourth with a 34-over 874.
Tulane finished fifth with a 36-over-par 876, followed by Duke and North Carolina in a tie for seventh with 41-over 881s. Georgia snagged the final spot of those advancing to NCAAs, carding a 17-over 297 in the final round to finish eighth with a 49-over 889.
Auburn finished just four strokes out of Georgia and moved up two spots in the rankings after entering the final round in a tie for 12th.
Individually for the Tigers, Birmingham native Schepperle led the way after finishing in a tie for eighth with a 6-over-par 216. Freshman Haley Wilson, a native of Ft. Mitchell, Ala., carded the low final round for the team as she posted a 2-under-par 68. She moved up 36 places in the rankings to finish the tournament in a tie for 23rd at 10-over-par 220.
"Candace has played so well for us this season and throughout this tournament, I am very proud of her for what she has done," said Evans.
"Haley Wilson has definitely been the key to a lot of the good things we have done this spring and she showed why today. She is only a freshman and she had a 68 in the NCAA Regionals, she has such a bright future ahead of her."
Fellow freshman Patricia Sanz (Madrid, Spain) was next in line for Auburn, finishing the three-day tournament in a tie for 46th with a 14-over-par 224. She tied with Schepperle in the final round with a 5-over 75 on Saturday. Sophomore Cydney Clanton (Concord, N.C.) finished fourth for the Tigers, carded a final-round 77 to finish the tournament in a tie for 80th at 23-over 233.
Sophomore Sara Thead (Poway, Calif.) rounded out the Auburn lineup as she finished in a tie for 90 with a 28-over-par 238, carding a 79 in the final round.
Denver's Dawn Shockley earned medalist honors for the tournament. She carded the low round of the tournament as she came in with a 4-under 66 on Saturday, finishing the event with a 1-under-par 209. She was one of three Pioneers in the top 10 for the victorious Denver team, joining Katie Kempter and Stephanie Sherlock.
The 10th-place finish in the NCAA Regional Championship signifies the end of the season for the Tigers. All five golfers in Auburn's lineup are expected to return for the 2009-10 season.
TEAM SCORES
1 - Denver - 287-296-279--862 (+22)
2 - Alabama - 284-291-291--866 (+26)
3 - Tennessee - 292-293-288--873 (+33)
4 - Virginia - 290-297-287--874 (+34)
5 - Tulane - 292-296-288--876 (+36)
T6 - Duke - 298-293-290--881 (+41)
T6 - North Carolina - 291-303-287--881 (+41)
8 - Georgia - 297-295-297--889 (+49)
9 - East Carolina - 283-313-296--892 (+52)
10 - Auburn - 304-294-295--893 (+53)
11 - Vanderbilt - 286-299-309--894 (+54)
12 - South Carolina - 308-290-299--897 (+57)
13 - Coastal Carolina - 301-297-300--898 (+58)
14 - Furman - 305-290-308--903 (+63)
15 - Florida State - 307-297-303-907 (+67)
16 - Florida - 305-301-302--908 (+68)
T17 - Ole Miss - 307-293-309--909 (+69)
T17 - Central Florida - 309-302-298--909 (+69)
19 - Stetson - 309-303-304--916 (+76)
20 - College of Charleston - 302-310-312--924 (+84)
21 - Jackson State - 324-336-330--990 (+150)
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS AND AUBURN PLAYERS
1 - Dawn Shockley (Denver) - 73-70-66-209 (-1)
2 - Stephanie Connelly (Central Florida) - 73-69-68-210 (E)
T3 - Camilla Lennarth (Alabama) - 69-70-73-212 (+2)
T3 - Nathalie Mansson (Tennessee) - 69-72-71-212 (+2)
T5 - Marina Alex (Vanderbilt) - 69-72-73-214 (+4)
T5 - Katie Kempter (Denver) - 69-77-68-214 (+4)
7 - Brooke Pancake (Alabama) - 70-72-73-215 (+5)
T8 - Whitney Neuhauser (Virginia) - 71-74-71-216 (+6)
T8 - Candace Schepperle (Auburn) - 71-70-75-216 (+5)
T8 - Stephanie Sherlock (Denver) - 69-74-73-216 (+6)
T23 - Haley Wilson (Auburn) - 79-73-68-220 (+10)
T46 - Patricia Sanz (Auburn) - 76-73-75-224 (+14) T80 - Cydney Clanton (Auburn) - 78-78-77-233 (+23)
T90 - Sarah Thead (Auburn) - 79-80-79-238 (+28)