May 22, 1999
TULSA, Okla. - The Arizona State women's golf team, winners of six NCAA titles in the 1990s and the two-time defending NCAA champion, shot a 10-over-par 294 in the third round of the NCAA Championships at The Tulsa Country Club Golf Course (par-71/6,202 yards) on Friday. The Sun Devils made a late charge and gained four strokes on the final two holes to move into a tie for second with Georgia and are eight strokes behind Duke.
On the par-5 No. 8 hole (ASU played the back nine), Grace Park eagled and then both Caroline Laurens and Tui Selvaratnam birdied the par-3 ninth hole. The four strokes put ASU in in the tie for second.
Grace Park, who is 14-under-par in her past 15 rounds, shot a 1-under-par 70 to lead the Sun Devils and remains the individual leader by one stroke over Duke's Candy Hanneman (71-72-70=213). Park has won six tournaments in her 18 collegiate appearances and is at 1-under 212 (69-73-70).
Individually, three Sun Devils had their best rounds of the tournament, as senior Tui Selvaratnam shot a 74 (76-79-74=229), while classmate Jody Niemann shot a 4-over 75 (80-76-75=231). Caroline Laurens also had her best round of the tournament, shooting a 75 (79-81-75=235). Senior Keri Cornelius shot a 78. Cornelius and Selvaratnam are both playing in their fourth NCAA Championships and have been part of two NCAA title teams (1997 and 1998).
The Blue Devils entered the tournament as the top-ranked team in the nation according to the MasterCard Collegiate rankings. ASU is ranked fourth. Duke also won the NCAA Fall Preview held at The Tulsa Country Club in October with a two-round score of 606 (297-309). The 297 was the lowest round in the tournament.
"We have players on this team who believe we can win and know what it takes to win a national championship," said ASU head coach Linda Vollstedt. "I know only one other player on the course (Kirssie Register of Arizona in 1996) has won a national team title, and we have four players who have won six titles. I do believe that can help us tomorrow."
Daily results can be accessed on the NCAA website (www.ncaachampionships.com) or on the University of Tulsa athletic website (www.utulsaathletics.com/ncaagolf) as Arizona State tries to add to its six NCAA titles in the 1990s (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998).
Arizona State will tee-off at 11:55 a.m. CT (9:55 a.m. MST) on Friday with Duke and Georgia. Saturday's final round coverage will be tape-delayed on Sunday, May 23 from 2:30-4:30 MST.
Team Scores (Par 284/852-3 rounds) Individual Scores (Par 71/213-3 rounds)
1. Duke 288-309-298=895 (+43) 1. Grace Park (ASU) 69-73-70=212 (-1)
T2. ASU 300-309-294=903 (+51) 2. Candy Hannemann (Duke) 71-72-70=213 (E)
T2. Georgia 301-303-299=903 (+51) 3. Shauna Estes (Georgia) 77-70-69=216 (+3)
4. Arizona 305-307-292=904 (+52) **No other players better than 220 (+7)
5. Pepperdine 302-301-308=911 (+59)
6. Tulsa 313-300-300=913 (+61)
7. USC 305-302-307=914 (+62) Other ASU Scores
T-24. Tui Selvaratnam (ASU) 76-79-74=229 (+16)
T-35. Jody Niemann (ASU) 80-76-75=231 (+18)
T-52. Kerri Cornelius (ASU) 76-81-78=235 (+22)
T-52. Caroline Laurens (ASU) 79-81-75=235 (+22)