April 27, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Sophomore Miki Ueoka added another career first to her resume as she became the first-ever Santa Clara women's golfer to qualify for the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship Regionals, it was announced Monday by the women's golf committee.
"It's very exciting," said Ueoka. "Once we stopped playing it was out of my hands. I just had to hope that the numbers I posted during the season would be good enough. I'm very lucky and grateful to have been selected."
"We are so excited and proud of Miki," said SCU head coach Polly Schulze. "She's done so much to help turn this program in the right direction. Miki has gone through a lot to get to this point and she has really proven herself in our conference. Now, she has the ability to prove herself nationally."
A two-time All-WCC honoree, Ueoka had a tremendous comeback at the WCC Championships. She was tied for 21st place at the end of the first round and finished tied for 2nd overall by the end of the tournament to help the Broncos to a third place finish. It was the highest finish by a Bronco female in WCC Tournament history. The Lihue, Hawaii native was named the conference's Player of the Month for February and March after winning back-to-back individual titles. Her first was at the Boise State Invitational in October, her second came at the Fresno State Golf Classic in February and her third was at the Sacramento State Invitational. Her rounds of 68 and 69 at the Fresno State Golf Classic are the lowest two rounds ever recorded by a Bronco women's golfer.
Ueoka will compete in the West Regional at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. Individually, Ueoka is joined by Chelsea Stelzmiller and Alice Kim of UC Davis. Representing the team pool are Arizona State, USC, Louisiana State, Pepperdine, Arkansas, San Jose State, Arizona, California, UC Irvine, San Francisco, UNLV, TCU, Texas A&M, Oregon, Long Beach State, Colorado, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northern Arizona and Oral Roberts.
Three regional tournaments will be conducted on May 7-9 to determine the championships field. A round of 18 will be played on each day. A total of 324 participants have been selected for regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each regional. The championship finals will be held on May 19-22 at the Caves Valley Golf Club, hosted by Georgetown.
