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Frogs begin title chase at NCAA National Championship
May 19, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU begins play Tuesday at the 2008 NCAA Women's Golf National Championship in Albuquerque. The 26th-ranked Horned Frogs are making their first back-to-back appearances at the national tournament since 1999-2000. It is TCU's fifth trip in 14 seasons under head coach Angie Ravaioli-Larkin. Last year's 11th-place result was TCU's best finish at the NCAA Championship since winning the national title in 1983. The Frogs qualified for this year's event after placing fourth out of 21 teams earlier this month at the NCAA Central Regional in Austin. TCU had been seeded 11th. In addition to TCU, the 24-team field at this year's NCAA National Championship includes Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn Denver, Duke, Florida, Furman, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma State, Purdue, South Carolina, USC, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulsa, UC Davis, UCLA, UNLV, Virginia and Wake Forest. The 72-hole tournament is spread over four days, culminating with Friday's final round. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com. TCU is playing at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course for the third time this season. The Frogs opened the year (Sept. 24-26) at the NCAA Preview in Albuquerque before seeing the course again at last month's Mountain West Conference Championship. Several Frogs have found the UNM Championship Golf Course to their liking. At the NCAA Preview, Valentine Derrey led the Frogs with a 2-under-par 217. Singapore native Melissa Loh was the top TCU finisher at the MWC Championship as she tied for sixth following a final round even-par 73. Loh is one of three freshmen in TCU's five-player lineup. Derrey, the Co-Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, held the lead after two rounds of the NCAA Central Regional before tying for third with a TCU tournament record 210. The sophomore from Paris, France, was 6 under par. Derrey's team-best 74.5 stroke average is ranked 27th nationally. She has nine top-20 finishes, including five in the top 10, in 10 tournaments this season. TCU freshman Allyson Ferguson tied for eighth at the NCAA Central Regional. The Houston native carded a 1-over 217, including a pair of 71s. She is second on the Frogs with a 77.6 stroke average. Ferguson has posted three top-20 finishes, including two top-10 efforts, in her last four tournaments. Prisela Campbell and senior Carrie Morris will also compete for TCU. Campbell has played in all but one tournament this season. She has a 77.9 stroke average with two top-20 results. She has had a career-low round of 73 on three occasions, including the first 18 holes at the NCAA Central Regional. Morris already has her TCU degree in hand. She is third on the Frogs with a 77.6 stroke average, percentage points behind Ferguson. The lineup of Derrey, Ferguson, Morris, Campbell and Loh has produced a top-five result in three of TCU's last four tournaments.
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