FERRIS STATE WOMEN'S GOLF EARNS BID TO NCAA EAST REGIONAL

The nationally-ranked Ferris State women's golf team will be making its seventh consecutive NCAA Division II Regional appearance.

The Ferris State University women's golf team earned its seventh consecutive bid to postseason play as the Bulldogs were selected to compete in the NCAA Division II Women's Golf East Regional Championships as announced by the NCAA on Monday (April 28).

The 2008 NCAA-II East Regional will be held May 5-7 at The Meadows Golf Course on the campus of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. Eighteen holes of competition will be conducted per day.

Ferris State, under interim head coach Mike Mignano, is among six participating teams competing in the regional and has earned a second seed. The other Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) school to receive a postseason berth is host Grand Valley State, which is the tournament's top seed. Comprising the rest of the six-team field in seeding order is Indianapolis, California (Pa.), Northern Kentucky, and Southern Indiana. The individuals are Christine Suchy of Ashland, Drury's (Mo.) Katie Wilburn, and Sarah Duplessis of Bellarmine (Ky.).

Last season (April 30-May 2), the Bulldogs claimed their second NCAA-II East Regional Championship in the program's history by carding a 902 team score (298-296-308=902) in the six-team 54-hole tourney held at FSU's Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Mich. The first-place showing earned Ferris State its eighth trip to the NCAA-II Championships in the program's history and its fourth straight national tourney appearance.

Ferris State, which also captured the 2004 regional title as a result of firing a three-round 963-team stroke total (325-313-325=963) on the Katke Golf Course, has compiled two first and second-place finishes apiece to go with a pair of third-place performances in its regional play history. FSU turned in a second-place effort in its last regional appearance at Grand Valley State as the Bulldogs recorded a three-round 959 score in the 2005 event (May 2-3).

Each regional will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently with six teams and three individuals from non-qualifying teams at each site. All participants will compete throughout the 54 holes of competition. The top two teams along with the top two individuals not with a team from each regional, will advance to the championships.

The 2008 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships will be held May 13-16, at Memorial Park in Houston, Texas, and will be hosted by the Rice University and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. The championships will be part of the Division II Spring Championships Festival.

The championships will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently. All participants will compete throughout the entire 72 holes of competition. In the team competition, the low four scores for each team will count in each day’s total score. The number of participants that qualify for the finals is 48.

Ferris State is presently ranked sixth nationally in the latest (April 23) Golf World/National Golf Coaches Association (NFCA) Women's Golf Coaches Poll.