University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Women's Golf Team Gets Bid To NCAA West Regional
April 28, 2008 | Women's Golf
April 28, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina women's golf team was one of 63 teams to receive a bid to participate in the NCAA Regionals. The Tar Heels will be playing in the West Regional May 8-10 . The 54-hole event will be played at Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Sacramento, Calif.
In addition to the 63 teams, six individuals received a bid to play in each regional (East, Central and West). The top eight teams and top two individuals not on those eight teams will advance on to the NCAA Championship to be played May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
"We are happy to be playing in the West Regional in Sacramento," says North Carolina head coach Sally Austin. "We are looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to play our way into the NCAA Championship."
Six Atlantic Coast Conference teams received bids to extend their seasons. Carolina is the only ACC team in the West Regional. Duke is the top-seeded team in the East Regional in Athens,, Ga., which will also feature Wake Forest and Virginia. Florida State and NC State will be at the Central Regional in Austin, Tex.
Carolina, ranked 33rd in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and 34th in Golfstat's Rankings, carded seven top 10 finishes this year. The Tar Heels finished fifth at the ACC Championship and the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational. They carded sixth-place finishes at the SJSU Spartan Invitational and the Cougar Classic, eighth-place finishes at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic and The Landfall Tradition, and a ninth-place finish at the Bryan National Collegiate.
After being slowed by a wrist injury in the fall, junior Sydney Crane came back strong this spring, tying for fifth-place in two tournaments - the SJSU Spartan Invitational and the Bryan National Collegiate. Crane, a Jamestown, N.C. native posted two additional top 25 finishes - a tie for ninth at the ACC Championship and a tie for 21st at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational.
Lauren Hunt, a junior from Little River, S.C., has carded seven top-25 finishes this year. Her top event was a sixth-place finish at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational. Kate Thomas, a sophomore from Murwillumbah, Australia, has carded four top-25 finishes, two in the top 10. She tied for ninth place at the SJSU Spartan Invitational and tied for 10th at the Tar Heel Invitational.
This marks Carolina's 15th appearance in the NCAA Regionals. Since the regional format was instituted in women's golf in 1993, the Tar Heels have received a bid in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. All of these appearances were in the East Regional except this year (West).
The complete list of teams participating at the West Regional are as follows (by seed): Southern California, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma State, California, Michigan State, Stanford, Brigham Yount, Tulsa, North Carolina, Ohio State, San Jose State, Oklahoma, Oregon, UNLV, UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, Fresno State, Oral Roberts and Portland State.
![Images from the first round of the 2026 Gators Invitational on Friday, March 6, 2026 at Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. [Photo by Matt Pendleton Photography for North Carolina Tar Heels Athletics]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Func.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F3%2F7%2F260306-NCAAWGOLF-UNC-GatorsInvitational-0828-MattPendleton_copy.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
