April 29, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the third straight year, Northwestern's women's golf team has qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships. The Wildcats will participate in the NCAA Central Regional, being hosted by Michigan State University, Thursday through Saturday, May 9-11.
Three rounds (54 holes) will be played at the Forest Akers West Golf Course (par-72, 6,053 yards) on the MSU campus. The top eight teams and top two individuals (not a part of the top eight teams) will advance to the championship finals May 21-24. The finals will be held at Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash., and hosted by the University of Washington.
There are 21 schools competing in each of the three regionals. At the Central Regional, the Wildcats are one of eight Big Ten schools in the field, led by Big Ten champion Ohio State. The top two seeds in East Lansing are Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma State and WAC and defending Central Region champion Tulsa. The Wildcats are seeded 13th in the region.
"We're excited about getting another opportunity to play," said NU Coach Chris Regenberg. "We still haven't peaked this season and there'd be no better time than next week. I've seen some signs of late that give me some hope that we can be a team to be reckoned with."
Northwestern, ranked 34th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll, is led by the Kim sisters -- sophomore Hana Kim (Encino, Calif./Brentwood) and freshman Ina Kim (Encino, Calif./Harvard-Westlake). They sport the top two averages on the team and have both finished in the top 10 of three different tournaments this season.
The Wildcats have finished second and 15th in the regional tournaments the past two years. In their first postseason tournament, the 'Cats advanced to the championship finals in Sunriver, Ore.
For a complete listing of teams and seeding in each region, visit NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships. Beginning Monday, May 6, Michigan State will have a detailed listing of all NCAA Central Regional information, including directions, at msuspartans.com.