Lady Jaguars Back For More

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The Augusta State Women's Golf program will make its second consecutive postseason appearance Thursday afternoon when the Lady Jaguars tee off in the NCAA East Regional at Penn State's Blue Course in State College, Pa.

The postseason appearance will be the third in the 11-year history of the program, which began with the 2001-02 season and became eligible for postseason competition beginning with the 2005-06 season. That year, the Lady Jags finished eighth in the NCAA East Regional at Bryan Park Golf Course in Browns Summit, N.C., and missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships by just four strokes.

Last year, under former head coach Kevin McPherson, the Lady Jags were again sent to the East Regional, this time at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. In 2012, head coach Kory Thompson has guided her squad to the postseason in her first season at the helm of the program.

"It's a big deal for so many reasons," Thompson said. "First of all, it's important for this group because they were in this same position a year ago and worked their tails off to get back here. Then, when you consider how important it is in recruiting and for growing a tradition and a program, then you realize how much it means to get an at-large bid and what a big deal it is to make the postseason. It matters and it puts you on the map."

Junior Marit Bjerke will lead off for ASU at 12:55 p.m., off the first tee. Junior Kirsty Rands is next at 1:06, followed by sophomore Christine Duschek-Hansen at 1:17 and junior Natalie Wille at 1:28. Sophomore Casey Kennedy will anchor the Lady Jag lineup at 1:39.

ASU, the No. 19 seed, will be paired with No. 20 seed Campbell and No. 21 Chattanooga. The NCAA regionals are contested in a three-day, 54-hole format, with 18 holes played each day. A total of 378 participants have been selected for regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals.

The top eight teams and top two individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championships, slated for May 22-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., just outside of Nashville.

Highlighted by their victory in the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic on Feb. 28, the Lady Jags registered three top-three and six top-five finishes during the regular season. ASU turned in a runnerup effort in its home event -- the Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate – while Duschek-Hansen took runnerup honors at Kiawah Island.

Live scoring of all three NCAA Women's Golf regionals will be available at www.golfstat.com.

The ASU Women's Golf Media Supplement can be viewed at http://jaguarsroar.com/sports/wgolf/2011-12/files/asuwg_ncaa_east_regional_media_supplement.pdf.

Penn State's tournament central page can be viewed at http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/w-golf-ncaa-2012.html.