Women's Golf Heads To Texas For NCAA Championships
5/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 16, 2011
2011 NCAA Championships Schedule of Events
2011 NCAA Championships Tee Times & Pairings
2011 NCAA Championships Complete Field
2010-11 Coastal Carolina Season Stats
CONWAY, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina women's golf team begins its quest for an NCAA title when the Chanticleers take part in the NCAA Championships May 18-21 in Bryan, Texas.
The NCAA Championships, hosted by Texas A&M University, will be played at the Traditions Golf Club. The Traditions Golf Course was a co-design by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II that was completed in 2004. Since its debut, Traditions has hosted a variety of elite tournaments, including last year's NCAA Men's West Regional Championships.
"We don't really have a lot of experience on this course, so it will play a little different than anything we have played all season," Coastal Carolina head coach Katie Quinney said. We are expecting very hot temperatures, but most of our girls don't mind the heat because it's what they are used to. The only issue that I can see that might play a role is whether or not the wind is blowing hard, but I really don't expect that to be much of a factor at all."
Coastal Carolina will begin play from the 10th tee at 1:25 (CST) on Wednesday and from the 1st tee at 8:55 a.m. on Thursday. The Chanticleers will be paired with Arkansas and UC Davis in both rounds.
Coastal Carolina became the first team in school and Big South Conference history to qualify for the NCAA Championships after the Chanticleers finished fourth at the NCAA East Regional on May 7th.
The Chanticleers finished with a three-day score of 876 (286-298-292) and finished 12 strokes over par on the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. No. 3 Alabama (287-284-295=866), No. 15 North Carolina (293-282-293=868) and No. 10 Arizona State (295-288-288=871) were the only three teams to finish ahead of Coastal Carolina.
"It will be a tremendous honor to represent Coastal Carolina and the Big South Conference when we play for a title at the NCAA Championships," Quinney said. "It's an awesome feeling and I hope the girls will understand that very few people can say they have had a chance to play for a national title."
Top-ranked USC and fourth-ranked and defending national champion Purdue headline a field that contains nine teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest GolfStat.com rankings. Along with the Trojans and Boilermakers, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Arizona, No. 7 LSU, No. 9 Tennessee and No. 10 Arizona State will all compete in the tournament. Coastal Carolina enters the event ranked 41st in the poll.
The field also includes No. 11 Arkansas, No. 12 California, No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 14 UC Davis, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 22 Vanderbilt, No. 23 Stanford, No. 25 Florida, No. 27 Texas A&M, No. 28 Ohio State, No. 32 South Carolina, No. 36 Washington and No. 39 Minnesota.
Below is an interview with Coastal Carolina head coach Katie Quinney before her team departed for the NCAA Championships.
At what point on Saturday did you realize that you had clinched a spot in the NCAA Championships?
"I felt pretty good after we made the turn, but anything could have happened on that back nine. Even at the turn, we probably had about a 14 or 15 shot cushion. Obviously, you feel ok with that, but there is a chance for a ton of trouble on that side. Tee shots could have gone anywhere and all of a sudden we could have just imploded. Once two scores were in the house, and I was pretty sure we would throw Brittany's score out that day, I felt pretty good because it kept minimizing the danger. I think everybody was really relaxed on the back nine because we felt like we were in pretty good position to finish in the top eight."
What was the reaction of the girls when you told them they qualified for the NCAA Championships?
"I walked in with Jessica and she was the third of our girls to come in that round. Courtney and Brittany were already in and I think Sarah Sargent kind of clued them in. We birdied or made par on most of the final holes, so we kind of knew things were looking good."
Did you play better than you expected?
"I had a pretty good feeling that if we could shoot right around 297 on average that we would have a really good shot. I felt like that average would have put us around the eight or nine mark and I think that's almost exactly how it ended up. I think the biggest thing was that we shot two under in the first round. I knew it was something they were capable of, but you never really know how things will play out until you really get out there. You don't really plan on rounds like that in pressure situations, but it was definitely a nice way to start to give them confidence. I think in the second round we were a little nervous and a little tight, but we kept it together and didn't drop too much."
Was there anything in particular that stood out last week at the regional?
"Sarah and I really spent a lot of time during the practice rounds preaching to the girls on really having to trust their targets. We explained to them that we might tell them to hit it way over to one side, but to just trust us even if you think it's going to land 40 yards away from where you want to hit it. We wanted them to fight their instincts and hit it on the line that we suggested. I feel like the girls really bought into that and I think that was a key reason why we were able to have so much success."
Can you describe the feeling knowing that you have the opportunity to win a national championship?
"It's an awesome feeling and I hope the girls will understand that very few people can say they have had a chance to play for a national title. I want them to enjoy the experience for the week and really just take it one day at a time. I feel like if we can get off to a good start like we did at regionals that we will be in it all week. Obviously, you don't want to dig yourself in a deep hole so you feel like you aren't playing for much by the end of the week. I think a top 15 finish for us would be phenomenal and every win that we get from here on out is for pride and respect."
What does it mean for you and this university to possibly win a national title?
"This was something that was a goal of mine when I came here because I really believed it was possible with all that Coastal Carolina golf has to offer. We have a great facility, a great location and so many other resources that make Coastal Carolina very attractive to golfers. I didn't know if it was going to be part of the five year plan or beyond, but I think it says a lot that we were able to qualify for nationals on our third try. I'm really excited for the girls and I hope they can use this as a springboard for next season too."
How familiar are you with the course?
"Kaitlin played the course a long time ago, so this will really be a new experience for everybody. It will play a little bit different then anything we have played all season. We are expecting very hot temperatures next week, but most of our girls don't mind the heat because it's what they are used to it. The heat really shouldn't bother us too much, but if the wind kicks up a lot we might feel a bit out of our element. I really don't expect that to be much of a factor though."
What can you take away from last week that can help you next week at the NCAA Championships?
"We're just trying to play a lot of golf this week and trying not to focus as much on technique or mechanics. We're trying to ride that confidence and momentum from last week into next week and hopefully that will help us. I think we will work on a game plan once we get there and see how the golf course plays. They need to understand there is still work to do, but take that confidence from last week and know that we can beat teams that we have never seen play before."
What is the most important factor for you to have success next week?
"I think that avoiding mistakes that are under our control will be key for us. If the golf course plays as hard as I think it could, then pars are going to look really good out there and birdies probably won't come very often. I think if we can keep our mistakes to a minimum, really control our games and keep big numbers out of play then we can have success."
What will your message to the team be?
"I want to see the golf course first before I deliver any kind of message. Normally, my message would be for us to really get back into the grind of things. However, in this case, I think the confidence they should have coming off of last week might be enough until we see the golf course. That is when we will come up with a game plan and a message for how we want to approach the course. For the most part, we have just had the mindset of wanting to work harder than everyone else. We feel like we are in a position for success and we feel like we deserve it and that we have earned it. We plan on getting in a lot of golf this week and hopefully when they step up on the tee they will understand that they do deserve a chance to play for the national title."
