May 3, 1999
Tigers Make Second Straight NCAA West Regional Appearance
The University of Missouri women's golf team will make its second straight appearance in the NCAA West Regional when they hit the links this week at Pine Forest County Club, in Houston, Texas.
That's where Head Coach TOM LOYD and his Tigers will compete with 19 other teams ranked among the nation's top 50 squads. The goal is to finish among the top 10 in the three-day, 54-hole tournament. The top 10 teams and two individuals advance to the 1999 NCAA Championships, to be held May 19-22 at Tulsa Country Club, in Tulsa, Okla.
Missouri is making its second straight NCAA West Regional appearance, and just the second in school history. Last year, the Tigers made their first-ever NCAA team appearance, and finished 15th of 20 teams.
About the Tigers
Missouri enters the 1999 NCAA West Regional looking to rebound from a disappointing team performance at the Big 12 Championships, where the Tigers finished 6th overall. MU had hopes of challenging for their first-ever league title, but a poor final round dropped them out of contention.
Missouri has been ranked among the Rolex/Mastercard Collegiate Rankings top 50 virtually all season long. The Tigers are currently ranked 35th in the nation, according to the Rolex rankings.
The Tigers have finished no lower than 6th place as a team in all six of MU's spring tournaments. Missouri won its spring opener, at the GTE MO-Morial in College Station in February. Quoting Coach Tom Loyd
On the Tigers qualifying for regionals:
"This has been a year-long goal of ours, and it's very gratifying to achieve what everyone has worked so hard for. It takes a full year of effort, and I'm very pleased we'll have the chance to represent the University."
On Missouri's chances at the regional:
"I feel like we have as good a chance or an even better chance of advancing than we had last year. Our individuals are playing better up and down the line than we were last year. There's not a team in the field that can't get in there, it all depends on how things come together. The thing that gives me confidence is that we've been so consistent this season, we've stayed away from the up-and-down syndrome that so many teams run into. If we can go out and play consistently, I think we're talented enough that we'll stand a good chance."
Tiger Honors
Senior Stefanie Mitchell was selected to the All-Big 12 First Team, as voted on by league coaches. She was a league second-team selection as a junior in 1998.
A pair of Tigers also earned recognition for their work in the classroom, as junior Tobi Probst and sophomore Jamie Tucker were named to the Big 12 All-Academic 1st and 2nd teams, respectively. Probst and Tucker are both majoring in Business at Mizzou.
Tiger NCAA History
With Missouri's selection to the NCAA West Regional, it marks the fifth time in the last six years that MU has been represented in the NCAA tournament.
MU had individual representation in the 1994 (Amy Smethers), 1996 (Kristen Samp) and 1997 (Letitia Moses) NCAA East Regionals. Samp also advanced to the 1996 NCAA Championships, after finishing 2nd in the East Regional that year. She eventually finished 61st overall at the finals, and is the only Tiger woman to play in the NCAA Championship finals.
Last year, Missouri made its first-ever team appearance in the NCAA tournament, and finished 15th of 20 teams at the 1998 NCAA West Regional, held at Stanford, Calif.
The Tigers shot a three-round team score of 921, which was just nine strokes back of advancing to the NCAA Championships.
Individually, Stefanie Mitchell just missed out on advancing to the NCAA finals as one of two individual advancers. Mitchell shot a three-round total of 222, which was just one stroke back from moving on.
Tiger Individuals
Playing in the No. 1 spot for Missouri is senior STEFANIE MITCHELL. The Cameron, Ill. native tied for 15th at the 1998 West Regional (73-75-74=222), and missed advancing to the NCAA Championships by just one agonizing stroke.
Mitchell is currently fourth in the Big 12 with a season stroke average of 76.2, in 31 rounds. She has six top-10 finishes on the season, including four of six in the spring season. A winner of two tournaments last year as a junior, Mitchell is looking for her first win this season. She's twice finished as a runner-up this season.
"Stefanie didn't do as well as she had planned at the Big 12 last week," said Tom Loyd. "That says something about her ability when rounds of 78-77-78 aren't viewed as very good.' But she's had a chance to get things figured out, and I'm sure she'll be ready to play well in Houston. She has the opportunity to compete with the very best individuals in the tournament, and I'm confident she'll do that."
In the No. 2spot for Missouri is sophomore JAMIE TUCKER. Tucker is in her first year as a Tiger, after playing as a freshman at Kansas last season. She is currently 2nd on the Tiger squad with a spring stroke average of 77.47. Tucker is coming off a solid performance at the Big 12 Championships, where she tied for 6th place overall, finishing just six strokes back of the leader.
Tucker has finished in the top-20 individually in seven of nine tournaments this season, including four straight entering the NCAA West Regional. Her best finish came at the GTE MO-Morial in February, when she finished 2nd.
"Jamie has really played awfully solid this season," said Loyd. "She's obviously been a big addition to the team. She played very well at the Big 12 Championships, and is playing with a lot of confidence. The thing I really like about her is that when she's in contention, she doesn't back down at all -- she likes the pressure."
The Tigers' No. 3 spot is filled by sophomore AMELIA MOSES. The younger of MU's Moses sisters, Amelia is averaging 77.71 strokes per round this season, a figure which ranks her 15th-best in the Big 12 Conference, and she was the co-medalist at the fall season opener in Normal, Ill. (Redbird Classic), where she shot a two-round 149 (76-73).
Moses tied for 57th at the 1998 West Regional, as she shot rounds of 81-75-76 for a three-round total of 232.
"Amelia has been very consistent this spring, other than one bad round," said Loyd. "She hasn't really faltered, even when she's not playing great. She's progressed a lot this year, not so much in lowering her scores, in as much as she's had fewer high scores."
Junior TOBI PROBST holds down MU's number four spot in the lineup, and the Columbus, Ind. native has steadily become one of the Big 12's most improved golfers. Probst is third on the Tiger squad with a spring stroke average of 78.27. That's more than four full strokes better than her 1998 spring season average of 82.38.
Probst has notched four top-25 finishes this season, and is coming off a 21st-place showing at the Big 12 Championships. She placed 98th at the 1998 NCAA West Regional, with a total of 251 (rounds of 85-83-83).
"Tobi has improved a great deal, and is a big reason for the team's success," said Loyd. "She's been a very pleasant surprise, and she should take a lot of pride in what she's done this season."
Rounding out the Tiger contingent in Austin will be freshman NISHA SADEKAR. The Aurora, Ontario native is fifth on the Tiger squad, with a spring stroke average of 80.75, in her first collegiate season. She has notched four top-25 individual finishes this season, including two each in the spring and fall campaigns. She tied for 54th at last week's Big 12 Championships, and will be making her first NCAA appearance.
"Nisha's scores have been very steady," said Loyd. "It's been hard for her to get in counters' (having your round count towards team score) because of how well her teammates have played. But, she drives the ball straight and keeps it in play so well that she should be ready to play a good tournament."
Head Coach Tom Loyd
Tiger head coach Tom Loyd is in his first year as head coach for his alma mater. Loyd, a longtime assistant for both the Tiger men's and women's programs, took over last July for longtime coach Mary Scott.
For the past six-and-a-half years, Loyd has been involved with the women's golf team as an assistant coach, helping the Tigers develop into a program of national prominence. That includes a one-year stint as interim head coach for the 1992-93 season, when Scott took a year off from coaching. Loyd has also assisted with the men's program since 1977, giving him over 20 years of experience instructing MU golfers.
A native of Carthage, Mo., Loyd was a four-year letterman as a golfer at Mizzou, playing for the Tigers from 1969-72. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1972 through 1974, he returned to MU to complete his degree in mathematics, which he earned in 1975.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
DATE: May 6-8, 1999
SITE: Pine Forest Country Club (Houston, Texas)
FORMAT: 54 holes contested over three days (18 each day). Each team will play with five golfers. The top four scores from each day of competition will count towards the team total.
TEAMS: 20 teams: #3 Arizona, #4 Tulsa, #5 Arizona State, #6 USC, #7 TCU, #8 Oklahoma State, #9 Pepperdine, #10 Stanford, #12 Washington, #13 Texas, #18 UCLA, #21 New Mexico State, #23 Oregon, #26 Oregon State, #28 San Jose State, #32 San Diego State, #35 MISSOURI, #37 New Mexico, #41 Texas Tech and #42 Texas A&M.
NOTE: The top 10 teams and two individuals from non-advancing teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, to be held May 19-22 at Tulsa Country Club in Tusla, Okla.
TIMES: Tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. (CST) all three days.
RESULTS: Texas A&M is hosting the regional, and will have results posted on their official website, which can be found at: www.sports.tamu.edu/westregional/
TIGER 1998-99 SEASON STATISTICS
TIGER LINEUP18 Low 54 Low Best Tiger Tourn. Rds. Avg. Round Avg. 54 Finish Stefanie MITCHELL 11 31 76.13 70 228.3 216 2 Jamie TUCKER 9 25 77.56 73 233.0 225 2 Amelia MOSES 11 31 77.71 70 234.2 227 T-1 Tobi PROBST 9 25 78.48 72 236.9 231 3 Nisha SADEKAR 7 21 80.10 74 240.3 229 T-15
1. Stefanie Mitchell -- Sr. 2. Jamie Tucker -- So. 3. Amelia Moses -- So. 4. Tobi Probst -- Jr. 5. Nisha Sadekar -- Fr.1998 NCAA West Regional
FINAL TEAM RESULTS
1. Arizona 290-283-298=871 2. Arizona St. 293-297-296=886 3. Stanford 301-296-298=895 Tulsa 293-306-296=895 5. Texas 297-299-303=899 USC 297-302-300=899 7. New Mexico 304-300-304=908 New Mexico St. 303-299-306=908 9. Washington 300-304-307=911 10. Oregon St. 307-294-311=912 Oregon 301-300-311=912 12. San Jose St. 298-304-314=916 13. Oklahoma St. 298-297-323=918 14. UCLA 303-303-313=919 15. MISSOURI 310-301-310=921 16. Texas Tech 306-307-314=927 TCU 307-312-308=927 18. N. Arizona 311-304-315=930 19. Texas A&M 300-315-322=937 20. BYU 299-316-326=941MISSOURI INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T-15 Stefanie Mitchell 73-75-74=222 T-23 Letitia Moses 74-75-77=226 T-57 Amelia Moses 81-75-76=232 93 Gina Spalitto 82-76-85=243 98 Tobi Probst 85-83-83=2511997 NCAA East Regional
MISSOURI INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T-25 Letitia Moses 74-84-80=238
1996 NCAA East Regional
MISSOURI INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2 Kristen Samp 74-77-69=220
1996 NCAA Championships
MISSOURI INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
61 Kristen Samp 80-77-87-83=327
1994 NCAA East Regional
MISSOURI INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T-12 Amy Smethers 79-74-80=233