For the fifth time in six years, Northwestern is headed to the NCAA Regional championships. But for the first time in school history, they’ll be competing in the West region.
After a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten championships last weekend, the Wildcats received the 17th seed in the NCAA West Regional championships.
“We were definitely expecting to get into the Regionals, but we’re really excited about going west,” said senior Ina Kim, who is only one of two NU golfers from the West. “We think we have a really good shot at making Nationals, so we’re excited.”
The Cats are one of only six teams from the east and central regions in the 21-team field in the West Regional, which will be played May 5-7 at the New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M.
Coach Chris Regenberg said this was the field her team wanted to be in, and the Cats’ chances for success are great, as they have improved round-by-round throughout the spring.
Last weekend NU got its fourth top-5 finish of the spring at Big Tens at the U-M Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Cats didn’t stray far from their fifth-seed in the Big Ten, finishing the first two rounds in a tie for fifth place. The Cats were six shots behind fourth-place Purdue heading into the final round.
But the final 18 holes were canceled because of snow and ice, leaving NU in fifth place for the championships with an 80-over 944.
“It was survival out there,” Regenberg said. “The wind was so strong, it was painful. They were conditions where you lose your hands, lose all of your feeling.”
The men’s golf team was also affected by the bad weather in the Midwest last weekend. The Cats were in Columbus, Ohio, for the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, but the tournament was canceled.
The Cats added next weekend’s Bruce Fossum/Taylor Made Invitational in Lansing, Mich., to its schedule to replace the canceled tournament.
At the snow-shortened women’s Big Tens, sophomore Alice Kim continued her impressive spring with a 14-over 230, finishing eighth, her fourth top-10 finish of the year. She shot a 74 in the third round, two strokes better than the rest of the field.
“It was a mind-over-matter situation,” Regenberg said. “Alice just wanted a great round.”
Ina Kim finished her Big Ten career with the second top-20 finish in the Big Ten championships. She tied for 14th place, shooting a 20-over 236.
Both Alice Kim and Ina Kim were named second-team All-Big Ten, the first All-Big Ten honors for both.
Sophomore Heather Scholten shot a 23-over 239 to finish 18th, her first top-20 finish since the Mountain View Collegiate in March.
Sophomore Kelly Robb tied for 22nd with a 24-over 240. Freshman Katie Trachok finished 44th (33-over 249), and freshman Brittany Johnston tied for 53rd (40-over 256).
Ohio State won its fourth consecutive conference title with a 36-over 900, 32 shots better than host Michigan, which took second with a 68-over 932. Michigan State finished third with a 69-over 933.
Ohio State had four of the top six individual finishers.
The Buckeyes’ Kristen White won the individual title with a 6-over 222.
Four other Big Ten teams qualified for the NCAA Regional championships. Ohio State is playing in the East region, and Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue are in the Central Regional.
Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].
