'We're there for a reason' - Tigers set for NCAA Regional

May 7, 2017

Auburn's Starting Lineup

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Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" It seems strange to call an NCAA Regional uncharted territory for the Auburn women's golf team. After all, the program went to 21 straight regionals from 1995 through 2015.

But after missing out last season, a return to the postseason will be a new experience for the majority of the team. Four of the Tigers' five players this week at the NCAA Athens Regional (Monday-Wednesday in Athens, Ga.) will be playing in an NCAA Regional for the first time.

Junior Kelli Murphy, who has played in every team tournament for the Tigers over her first three seasons, is the lone holdover from the 2015 squad that finished 12th at the NCAA San Antonio Regional. Of the other four in the lineup that week, two have graduated, one left the program, and the other ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" senior Clara Baena ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" has missed the majority of her senior season with injury.

But Murphy's experience in that regional taught her that approaching the postseason any differently from a regular-season event would be a mistake.

"I think the biggest takeaway is to remember that it's just like any other tournament," Murphy said. "There are a lot of good teams there. But we're there for a reason, and as long as we stick to our own game plan and know what to do, we feel like we'll be able to play really well there.

Murphy will be part of a lineup for the 12th-seeded Tigers that features freshmen Elena Hualde and Kayley Marschke, sophomore Mai Dechathipat and junior Michaela Owen. And that lineup is significant for two reasons. One, it's the first postseason event for four of the five. And two, it's the same lineup Auburn used on this course almost exactly a month ago.

Auburn earned a fifth-place finish at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in early April, played at the University of Georgia Golf Course where this week's regional will be held. And it was a twist of fate that sends Auburn to Athens for the second time in a month: the regional was originally slated to be played in Greenville, N.C., but landed in Athens after the NCAA pulled all championship events out of the state of North Carolina back in the fall.

"We've played that course the last three years, so we've multiple rounds there," Murphy said. "We definitely feel more comfortable there than a strange site."

Several players came up big for the Tigers at the Liz Murphey. Marschke won all three of her matches, including a big comeback to clinch the Tigers' win over Southern California, and Dechathipat and Owen were the top finishers in stroke play qualifying. But Marschke knows earning a top-six team finish at regionals and earning a berth in the NCAA Championship would be an even bigger prize.

"I'm excited," Marschke said. "We've been playing really well and working hard, and we haven't really had 'that' tournament yet, where we all peak at the same time. I think this could be it for us."

Second-year head coach Melissa Luellen is no stranger to the NCAA postseason, having taken her Arizona State teams to regionals and championships nearly every year she was in Tempe. But this is her first at Auburn, and with it comes a different mindset.

"There's a window of opportunity for us, being a 12-seed," Luellen said. "We've got absolutely nothing to lose, which is a really nice place to play from. I've been on the other side, being a top seed, and it's nerve-racking. I've never really looked forward to regionals, but this week I am looking forward to it."

Luellen plans for the Tigers to take advantage of the fact that they are one of four teams ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" along with Alabama, Georgia and Troy ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" to have competed on this course just a month ago.

"We had a great tournament (in Athens), probably one of our best of the year," Luellen said. "We do know the golf course is challenging. If you make a couple of bogeys here or there, you don't freak out because the scoring is never really super low there. We'll have some nice cool weather, so the golf course will be in great shape."

But the key for Luellen in her first NCAA Regional at Auburn is for her team to simply focus on themselves.

"Play your game" is the team's mindset heading into the week, she said. "We're not going to be talking about score, we're not going to talk about outcome. We're going to tell them what their tee time is and not even look at the results (during the round)."

Play begins Monday morning for the Tigers with a 7:30 a.m. ET tee time. The top six teams in the 18-team field after 54 holes will advance to the NCAA Championship, which run May 19-24 in Sugar Grove, Ill.

"It's a tribute to our team that we have improved," Luellen said. "Our season continues, and we hope to continue it a little bit longer this week."