TCU set to begin NCAA Regional play
5/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 9, 2007
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The TCU women's golf team will make its 12th consecutive postseason appearance when it begins play Thursday at the NCAA Central Regional in Ann Arbor, Mich.The 23rd-ranked Horned Frogs will be in action for the first time since April 21, when they rallied from a six stroke final-round deficit to win the Mountain West Conference Championship.
TCU is seeded seventh in the 21-team field. The 54-hole event will be held at the par 71, 6,116-yard University of Michigan Golf Course. The top eight finishers will advance to the NCAA National Championship May 22-25 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Joining the Frogs in the regional field are Georgia, Vanderbilt, USC, Tennessee, Arizona, Michigan State, Baylor, Arkansas, Kent State, Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, Missouri, SMU, Maryland, Indiana, UNC-Wilmington, Oral Roberts, Southern Illinois and St. Francis (Pa.).
TCU's five-player lineup will consist of seniors Camille Blackerby, Elin Emanuelsson and Catherine Matranga as well as freshmen Valentine Derrey and Megan O'Donnell.
Blackerby, Emanuelsson and Matranga will be playing in their fourth NCAA Regional.
Blackerby, Matranga and Derrey were named to the 2007 All-Mountain West Conference team and rank among the nation's top-100 golfers. Matranga's team-best 73.9 stroke average places 39th in the country, while Derrey's 74.4 mark is 68th. Blackerby is 92nd at 75.0.
Matranga and Blackerby have career-low stroke averages. Blackerby has recorded four straight top-10 finishes and five in the past six events. Matranga has six top-10 results with a team-best nine top-20 finishes out of 11 tournaments this season.
Derrey has placed in the top 14 in five of her six spring tournaments. She took medalist honors at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
Emanuelsson has posted back-to-back top-10 finishes, including a season-best tie for sixth at the MWC Championship. O'Donnell has played in four tournaments. A final-round 75 keyed a 16th-place effort at the MWC Championship.
The Frogs are looking to advance to the NCAA National Championship for the first time since 2000, when they finished 20th. TCU won the 1983 NCAA title.
TCU's first-round tee times begin at 8:10 a.m. ET. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
