Alabama Golf: Tide Women in Second Place NCAA Athens Regionals
By Ronald Evans
The Alabama golf teams will compete in NCAA Regionals. The women opened their regional Monday, shooting a team score of one-over par that put them in second place.
Last week the Alabama golf women were honored with two player of the year awards. Cheyenne Knight, pictured below was named the SEC Player of the Year. Kristen Gillman was named SEC Freshman Player of the Year. Knight, Gillman and Lauren Stephenson were all named to the All-SEC First Team.
The Tide women are ranked No. 3 in the nation and are expected to advance to the NCAA Finals May 19-24 in Sugar Grove, IL.
Alabama Crimson Tide Football
The NCAA Athens Regionals is being played on the home course of the University of Georgia. Alabama trails first round leader, Michigan State by five shots.
The Tide were led on Monday by Lauren Stephenson who posted a 69, three-under par score. Stephenson’s score tied her for the second best opening round. Following Stephenson with a 71 was Knight, the only other Tider under par in the opening round.
Kristen Gillman shot a one-over par 73. Gillman had a rollercoaster round of five birdies, four bogeys and one double-bogey. The fourth carded round was by Mia Landegren who shot a four-over 76.
Tournament host Georgia and Northwestern finished four shots behind Alabama. The tournament is a 54 hole event with the top six teams advancing to the NCAA Finals. Here is a full list of scores from Monday:
- Michigan State – No. 1 at -4
- Alabama – No. 2 at +1
- Georgia and Northwestern – Tied No. 3 at +5
- Baylor – No. 5 at +8
- Tennessee – No. 6 at +9
- Arizona – No. 7 at +10
- Princeton – No. 8 at +12
- Augusta and North Carolina – Tied No. 9 at +14
- Clemson and UCF – Tied No. 11 at +16
- North Florida and Auburn – Tied No. 13 at +17
- Wake Forest – No. 15 at +20
- Kansas State – No. 17 at +22
- Troy – No. 17 at +27
- Quinnipiac – No. 18 at +45
Crimson Tide coach Mic Potter commented after the round, as reported by rolltide.com:
"“The goal at any regional is to put yourself in position to advance. We played okay today but we can play better. The key is we are still in position to reach our goal, which is to qualify for the NCAA championships. I thought Lauren Stephenson played great today. I really liked the confidence she showed in her short game.”"
Next: Get to Know the New Offensive Coordinators for 2017 Tide Opponents
The Tide Men’s Golf team earned a 13th straight trip to the NCAA Regionals. The Tide Men’s team will compete in Sammamish, WA, May 15-17.