April 30, 2012

Indianapolis, Indiana - The University of Tulsa women's golf team was selected as one of 72 teams to participate in the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship Regional, it was announced tonight at 9:00 pm (ET).

Three regional tournaments will be conducted May 10-12 to determine the championship field. Regional tournaments are considered preliminary rounds of NCAA championship competition. A total of 378 participants have been selected for regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championship finals. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each regional.

Tulsa will play in the 24-team field at the West Regional played at the Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colorado. Defending national champion UCLA headlines the teams at the West Regional. In addition to UCLA, the top eight seeds are LSU, North Carolina, Colorado, California, Pepperdine and UC Davis.

The Hurricane received Conference USA's automatic bid after delivering a 13-stroke victory last week at the C-USA Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama. All five Tulsa golfers placed among the top-13 individually at the league event.

Tulsa is making its 33rd national tournament appearance and in the 20 years of the NCAA regional format Tulsa is making its' 17th regional and fifth in a row. Tulsa looks to advance to the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time since 2008.

The championship finals will be held May 22-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee and will be hosted by Vanderbilt University.

Earlier today, Tulsa's Kristina Merkle was named the C-USA Golfer of the Year, while Head Coach Randy Keck earned Coach of the Year accolades. Merkle was joined on the C-USA first-team by senior Marita Engzelius, while fellow senior Kamryn Ruffin was a third-team selection.