By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
Bradenton, Fla.—Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn heads to Florida to compete in the 2015 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, to be held May 22-27, at The Concession Golf Club. The sophomore punched her ticket to the championship after tying for sixth at the NCAA Regional in San Antonio earlier in May.
Ranked No. 16 in the nation according to Golfstat, Vaughn has had a standout sophomore season for the Sun Devils. She has recorded five top-ten finishes on the year and she leads the squad with a 72.32 scoring average. Her 4.68 par-five scoring average is currently the best in the nation, and she leads Arizona State with 83 birdies carded.
This year’s championship features a format change. All 24 teams and 12 individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play. The top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in match play for the championship.
Six Pac-12 women’s golf teams are amongst the field for the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships. No. 1 Southern California, No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Arizona, No. 7 Washington, No. 13 Stanford, and No. 34 California will compete for the national title in Florida. Joining Vaughn as individuals from the Pac-12 are Alivia Brown of Washington State and Anica Yoo of Oregon State.
This is the first time in 24 years that the Arizona State women’s golf team did not qualify for the NCAA Finals. The Sun Devils hold the record for most consecutive NCAA Championship appearances with 23 straight. ASU also leads the nation in NCAA Championships with seven and NCAA individual titles with five.
Vaughn will tee off with Texas' Bertine Strauss and Furman's Taylor Totland from the first hole on Friday, May 22, at 8:25 a.m. EDT/5:25 a.m. PDT.
The University of South Florida will serve as the host of the championships and the Golf Channel will provide live coverage for the final three days of the championships on May 25, 26, and 27. For a complete list of this year’s field and more information, visit NCAA.com.