After earning a second-place tie in the Southeastern Conference Tournament two weeks ago, the No. 22-ranked LSU women’s golf team travels to Howey-in-the Hills, Fla.., to compete in the NCAA East Regional May 6-8. The Lady Tigers hope their success in the SEC Tournament will carry into the East regional.
LSU’s tournament performance has been a confidence builder for the young squad. After beginning the SEC Tournament shooting a mediocre 299, the team rallied to drop six strokes in the second round to 293 and four strokes in the final round to finish the final day with a combined 881.
Coach Karen Bahnsen said the team responded in the SECs and is ready to compete.
“We are very excited,” she said. “This will be a challenge for our young team, but they proved in the SECs they are up for it. We like going to Florida for the Tournament and feel we will have a good shot if things fall into place for us. The team has been practicing hard for this event and really look forward to the challenge.”
Junior Brooke Shelton will be expected to guide the team. As team captain, Shelton has bounced back and led by example after shooting a first round 80 in the SEC Tournament and finishing with back-to-back 71s to push the team into second place.
Freshmen Alexis Rather, Nicola Eaton and Melissa Eaton make their first NCAA Regional appearance after impressive seasons.
Rather, who finished with two top-10 finishes, finished the season with a 77.87 average. Her consistent performance at the SEC tournament also proved essential to the teams’ seeding. She finished the Tournament with a 74 after shooting 75s the first two rounds.
After competing in eight tournaments this season and shooting a low round of 71, Melissa Eaton is primed to excel in the Regional. Her best finish was a sixth-place finish in the Central District Tournament, and she has one top-10 finish this season.
Nicola Eaton has also risen to meet the challenge, with a 77.50 average in her first season. In her four tournaments this season, she shot a team-low 70 in the SEC Tournament on the final day.
The SEC will field almost half of the 21 teams in the East. Of the 21 teams, 10 teams will represent the SEC. Although the bracket will be comprised of a strong group, No. 1 seed Duke and No. 2 seed Auburn will be the main competition for the Lady Tigers.
Duke, who is No. 1 in the Golf World Women’s College Poll, will represent the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils carry their No.1 ranking into a bracket that has only one top-10 team.
No. 7-ranked Auburn, who finished tied with LSU at 881 in the SEC Tournament, earned the No. 2 seed in the East Regional after its strong SEC Tournament performance and consistent play throughout the season. Auburn and LSU finished four strokes off SEC Tournament champion Vanderbilt. The Commodores are the No. 1 seed in the Central Division.
No. 4 seed Georgia will travel to California to compete in the West Division. The Bulldogs finished the SEC Tournament in sixth place and will look to redeem their inconsistent tournament play on Thursday. Georgia is currently tied with Auburn as the No. 7-ranked team in the country.