Ferris State Women's Golf Takes Fifth Place At NCAA Super Regional
The Ferris State University women's golf team turned in another solid performance with a final-round 324 score in Tuesday's (May 3) final round of the 2011 NCAA Division II Super Regional One to claim fifth-place overall, but still came out short in qualifying for the NCAA Championships and subsequently concludes its 2010-11 season.
The Bulldogs, who finished the three-day (May 1-3) tournament with a 123-over-par 987 team score on the par 72, Cedarbrook Golf Gold Course in Belle Vernon, Pa., registered rounds of 340, 323, and 324. Ferris State would end up 18 strokes in back of fourth-place Drury (969, +105).
Grand Valley State (957, +93) captured the regional crown while host California, Pa. (966, +102), and Ashland (967, +103) placed second and third, respectively among the nine participating teams. All three earned a berth into the 2011 NCAA Championships as the top three teams to place along with the top three individual finishers not affiliated with a team at the super regionals advance to the national championship tournament.
Ferrris State was paced by freshman Jacqueline DeBoer (Grand Rapids/South Christian), who compiled a team-leading eighth-place tying performance by firing a 240 score (81-77-82=240, +24). DeBoer, the 2010-11 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-GLIAC honoree, tallied par on three of the first nine holes in Tuesday's final round and then accumulated five more pars on the second nine holes. As a result of her noteworthy performance, DeBoer will be competing in the 2011 NCAA-II Women's Golf Championships on May 11-14 at The Meadows Golf Course in Allendale, Mich.
Junior Erin Fuchik (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley) joined DeBoer in placing among the top 20 individuals on the leaderboard with an 11th-place 242-stroke total (86-80-76=242, +26). Fuchik totaled three birdies, which included two on the front nine, to go with nine pars in her final 18 holes of action. She started out Tuesday's final round tied for 21st place.
Placing in a three-way tie for 34th was junior Brooke Rodes (Traverse City/West), who turned in a 254 score (84-83-87=254, +38). Rodes compiled four pars on the front nine while chalking up five pars and one birdie in the second nine holes of play. Junior Blaize Baumgartner (Perry) recorded a 261-stroke total (89-93-79=261, +45) to earn a share of 40th-place honors with two other individuals. Baumgartner completed final-round play with eight pars and a birdie.
Freshman Emily Rohdy (Farwell) rounded out the scoring for Ferris State by shooting a 264 score (91-83-90=264, +48) to tie for 44th place. She pared five holes on the front nine and then earned par on three more within the back nine.
The 2011 NCAA Regional appearance by Ferris State this spring represented the 10th consecutive year in which the Bulldogs qualified for postseason play on the links. FSU's fifth-place showing this season surpassed its seventh-place three-round 969 team output at the 2010 NCAA-II Super Regional One (May 2-4) in Springfield, Mo.