May 19, 2008

Albuquerque, N.M. -

NCAA Championship Notes

The No. 11 Auburn women's golf team will compete for its first-ever NCAA Championship this week at the par 71, 7,248-yard University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M. The Tigers qualified for their fourth straight national championship with a fourth place finish at the NCAA East Regional two weeks ago.

"We are a young team and have taken some hits this year," head coach Kim Evans said. "We have grown up along the way. The team is ready to play and they are very excited right now. I think they all feel, and I feel that all five of them haven't played as a team yet, throwing in the same scores on the same day together. Their goal this week is to really see what they can do and pull each other through and get four good scores each day."

Auburn played the same course back in the fall and finished tied for sixth in the 18-team field at the NCAA Fall Preview. The Tigers join 17 other top 25 teams in the field at the championship this week. The other six teams that make up the 24-team field are all ranked in the top 50.

The Tigers hold a 50-40-2 advantage over the NCAA Championship field and have competed against 23 of the 24 teams already this season. UC Davis is the only team in the field Auburn has not met this season.

Auburn will play the same lineup it played at the East Regional. Freshman Cydney Clanton retains her No. 1 spot, followed by sophomore Candace Schepperle. Senior Margaret Shirley will play at No. 3, while junior Mariana Macias will play at No. 4 and freshman Sarah Thead rounds out the lineup in the No. 5 spot.

Auburn tees off of #10 Tuesday at 1:20 p.m. MT with TCU and Arizona. Auburn will play its second round Wednesday morning at 8:50 a.m. MT at #1. Tee times and playing partners for Thursday and Friday will be determined based on position after Wednesday.

Live results will be available at www.golfstat.com and a full recap of each round can be found at www.auburntigers.com at the conclusion of play.