FERRIS TO MAKE NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE

The Ferris State women's golf team will be advancing to the 2005 NCAA Division II National Championships as a result of finishing with a second-place 959-team score (+110) at the NCAA-II East Regional Tuesday (May 3) in Allendale, Mich.

The two-day (May 2-3) regional tourney was held at the par 72, 5,882-yard The Meadows Golf Course on the Grand Valley State University campus.

Junior Elena Robles and the Ferris State Bulldogs are going back to the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships for the second straight year.

The Bulldogs carded a 313-stroke total in Tuesday's final-round play after recording scores of 324 and 322, respectively in Monday's (May 2) opening two rounds. Host Grand Valley State claimed the regional crown this year as the Lakers were seven strokes in front of runner-up Ferris with a 952 score (+88). The Bulldogs captured their first-ever East Regional title last year with a three-round 963 score (+99) at FSU's Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Mich.

As a result of their regional performances, both Ferris State and Grand Valley State earned national tourney berths as the top two teams and the top two individuals not affiliated with a team from each of the four regionals advances.

Junior Elena Robles posted a team-best 238 score (79-82-77--238, +22) to finish in a two-way tie for third place with Grand Valley State's Laura Leatherman (84-79-75--238, +22). Melissa Sneller of Grand Valley State was the top individual medalist with a 234 score (79-80-75--234, +18) and Northern Kentucky's Bianca Hutton had a 237-stroke total (77-82-78--237, +21) to place runner up.

For Ferris, sophomore Casey McKinnon was one stroke behind Robles at 239 (83-76-80--239, +23) to place among two others for fifth.

Sophomore Heidi Aittama and freshman Becky Hoffman both registered 241 scores which tied the two for eighth place. Aittama fired a 241 (84-82-75--241, +25) while Hoffman wound up with the same stroke total (78-82-81--241, +25). Freshman Missy Ward captured 16th place on the basis of her 251 score (85-82-84--251, +35).

Claiming All-East Region laurels as a result of placing among the top five individual finishers were Sneller, Hutton, Elena Robles, Casey McKinnon, Grand Valley State's Enid Gage, and Kim Keyer-Scott of Northern Kentucky.

Ferris will be making its fifth NCAA-II National Tournament appearance next week (May 11-14) at the University of New Mexico's The Championships Course in Albuquerque, N.M. The 72-hole event, which will feature both team and individual competition, is being hosted by Western New Mexico University.

The Bulldogs will have a tall task in duplicating last season's school-record second-place tying performance at the 2004 NCAA Championships (May 12-16) in Longwood, Fla. Ferris carded a four-round 1,264-stroke total (+112) as the second-place tie marked the highest-placing ever for a Bulldog Women's Athletics team.

Ferris State's appearance last season marked its first since the 2000-01 season when the Bulldogs turned in a fifth-place 1,360 score for four rounds at the 2001 NCAA Championships (May 16-19) in Rock Hill, S.C. FSU's highest national tourney finish was in 1992 (May 4-6) at Fayetteville, N.C., as the Bulldogs finished fourth of six teams with a three-round 1,015-stroke total.

2005 NCAA Division II East Regional Final Results
1. Grand Valley State (952, +88)
2. Ferris State (959, +95)
3. Northern Kentucky (974, +110)
4. Northwood (1033, +169)
5. Southern Indiana (1036, +172)
6. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (1069, +205)