Carolina's O'Donnell Wins NCAA West Regional

Saturday, May 12

Erie, Col.

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA West Regional

May 12, 2012 | Women's Golf

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 12, 2012

Complete Results | Complete Tar Heel Golf Notes | NCAA West Regional Information | NCAA Tournament Program | Three Tar Heels Selected All-ACC

ERIE, COL. - University of North Carolina senior Catherine O'Donnell captured the individual championship of the NCAA West Regional. O'Donnell fired a 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to finish with a 7-under 209 total to win the title by one stroke. The No. 6 ranked Tar Heels placed seventh thus advancing on to the NCAA Championships which will be played May 22-25. Carolina carded a 6-over 294 in the final round and finished with an 880 total at the Colorado National Golf Club.

O'Donnell, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., was 2-over on the front nine after suffering bogies on the first two holes and a double-bogie on #9 with 2 birdies in between. But she came roaring back and was 4-under on the back with birdies on holes 10, 12, 13 and 15 to finish at 2-under 70. Her 7-under 209 total gave her a one-stroke win over Austin Ernst of LSU. This was O'Donnell's second win this year and the third of her career. She tied for first at the LSU Classic earlier this spring and also tied for first at the 2008 Tar Heel Invitational.

"Obviously we're glad to have made it to Nationals and we're excited for Catherine (O'Donnell) who played really fantastic golf," said Tar Heel head coach Jan Mann. "The team got off to a very slow start this morning, but we came back and I'm proud of them for that. The good news is we made it to Nationals and we've got a few days to work before the Championships and we feel confident that we'll do well."

Two Tar Heels, senior Allie White and sophomore Casey Grice, both tied for 35th place with 7-over 223 totals. White, from Lancaster, Ohio, fired a 1-over 73 in the final round carding four birdies and five bogies while Grice, from College Station, Texas, posted a 5-over 77. Junior Courtney Gunter, from Matthews, N.C., fired a 3-over 75 in the final round to finish at 10-over 226 in a tie for 49th. Katherine Perry, a sophomore from Cary, N.C., carded a 4-over 76 for 13-over 229 total to tie for 72nd.

Top-ranked UCLA and No. 7 ranked LSU tied for first place at 9-over 873 to top the field of 24 teams. The Bruins fired a 1-under 287 in the final round while the Tigers carded a 4-over 292. Pepperdine and host Colorado both fired a 9-under 279 on Saturday. Pepperdine finished third at 11-over 875 while Colorado placed fourth at 13-over 877. Baylor and Stanford tied for fifth place at 15-over 879 while Carolina placed seventh at 16-over 880 and Oklahoma grabbed eighth place with an 890 total. These are the top eight teams that advance on to the NCAA Championships to be played May 22-25 at Vanderbilt's Legends Course in Franklin, Tenn.

As noted above, Carolina's O'Donnell was the individual medalist at 7-under 209, finished one stroke ahead of LSU's Ernst. Hayley Davis of Baylor finished in third place at 4-under 212 while Stanford's Sally Watson placed fourth at 3-under 213. Two players, UCLA's Ani Gulugian and Pepperdine's Somin Lee tied for fifth place at even par 216. The two individuals not on the top eight teams who advance on to the NCAA Championships are Texas Tech's Kimberly Kaufman and Gabriella Dominguez. Dominguez won a one-hole playoff with UC Davis' Amy Simanton.

The 54-hole event was played at Colorado National Golf Club which features a par 72, 6,575-yard layout. The Tar Heels now move on to the NCAA Championships to be played May 22-25 at Vanderbilt's Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.