May 11, 2000
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's golf team will make its third straight appearance in the NCAA West Regional when they hit the links on May 11-13 at ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.
That's where Head Coach TOM LOYD and his Tigers will compete with 23 other teams ranked among the nation's top 50 squads. The goal is to finish among the top 11 in the three-day, 54-hole tournament. The top 11 teams and three individuals will advance to the 2000 NCAA Championships, to be held May 24-27 at Crosswater Course Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
Missouri is making its third straight NCAA West Regional appearance, and just the third in school history. MU is looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. The Tigers did not advance from the West Regional after finishing 15th in 1998 and 16th in 1999.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
DATE: May 11-13, 2000
SITE: ASU Karsten Golf Course (Tempe, Ariz.)
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: 24 teams: #1 Arizona, #3 USC, #4 Arizona State, #6 Pepperdine, #7 Stanford, #9 Oklahoma State, #10 New Mexico State, #11 San Jose State, #14 UCLA, #15 Texas, #16 New Mexico, #17 Tulsa, #22 Oklahoma, #23 TCU, #25 California, #26 Oregon, #27 Nebraska, #31 MISSOURI, #33 Washington, #34 Baylor, #35 Texas Tech, #45 Oregon State, #48 Brigham Young, #49 Washington State.
NOTE: The top 11 teams and three individuals from non-advancing teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, to be held May 24-27 at Crosswater Course Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
TIMES: Tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. (CST) all three days.
RESULTS: Arizona State is hosting the regional, and will have results posted on their official website, which can be found at: www.thesundevils.com
About the Tigers Missouri enters the 2000 NCAA West Regional coming off a strong showing at the Big 12 Championships, where the Tigers tied for fourth place, along with 15th-ranked Texas.
Missouri has been ranked among the Rolex/Mastercard Collegiate Rankings top 50 virtually all season long. The Tigers are currently ranked 31st in the nation, according to the Rolex rankings.
The Tigers have finished no worse than 7th place as a team in all six of MU's spring tournaments. Missouri won the GTE MO-Morial hosted by Texas A&M, in March. That marked the second straight year the Tigers have won the MO-Morial.
Holy Moses
Junior Amelia Moses is riding high after making history in the 2000 Big 12 Championships. Moses won the individual title at Lubbock, Texas, making her MU's first-ever conference champion. She also became the first African-American to win a women's golf title in Big 12/Big Eight/Southwest Conference history.
Moses shot rounds of 73, 72 and 77 for a winning total of 222 (6-over par). She edged out runner-up Jennifer James of Oklahoma by one stroke to claim the title. Moses and James were tied entering the final hole of the tournament, but Moses parred the 18th on the final day, while James bogeyed.
The previous best a Tiger female had ever fared at the conference level was a trio of second place finishes by Stefanie Mitchell (1998), Michelle Jordan (1980) and Mary McNabb (1978).
Moses' win was the third of her collegiate career. She's won once a season in each of her first three years.
Moses has notched top-25 finishes in 9-of-10 outings during the 1999-2000 season, including four top-10 showings. The Coronationville, South Africa native is undoubtedly playing her best golf down the stretch, as she's finished in the top-5 of three of her last five tournaments.
Moses leads the Tigers with a season stroke average of 76.32, which is more than a full stroke-and-a-half improvement from last year's average of 77.88.
The younger sister of former Tiger standout Letitia Moses, Amelia will be playing in her third straight NCAA West Regional. She is looking to improve on finishes of 57th in 1998 and 66th in 1999.
Tiger NCAA History
With Missouri's selection to the NCAA West Regional, it marks the sixth time in the last seven 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.
In 1998 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.
Last year, Missouri finished 16th of 20 teams at the West Regional held in Houston, Texas. MU's top individual finisher was sophomore Jamie Tucker, who tied for 31st individually with a three-round total of 230.
Tiger Individuals
Playing in the No. 1 spot for Missouri is junior AMELIA MOSES. The Coronationville, South Africa native won medalist honors at the Big 12 Conference Championships, becoming MU's first-ever league champion. She's averaging a team-best 76.32 strokes per round in 28 rounds this season.
In the No. 2 spot for Missouri is sophomore NISHA SADEKAR. One of the most improved golfers in the Big 12 Conference, Sadekar is averaging 77.64 strokes per round this season. That's nearly three full strokes better than her freshman average of 80.46. Sadekar has moved to the No. 2 spot in the lineup after playing from the No. 5 spot last year.
Sadekar has notched six top-25 finishes during the 1999-2000 season, including two top-10 showings. The Aurora, Ontario native is coming off a 27th-place performance at the Big 12 Championships, where she shot rounds of 77, 77 and 83 for a three-round total of 237.
Sadekar is looking to improve on her 1999 NCAA West Regional performance, where she tied for 92nd overall with a total of 249 (85-82-82).
Playing in the No. 3 slot is the only senior in the Tiger lineup - TOBI PROBST. Probst has played from the No. 4 spot for most of the season, but was moved up to No. 3 for the West Regional.
Probst carries a season stroke average of 78.29 into the regional. She's carded three top-10 finishes in the 2000 spring season - that's equal to the number of top-10 showings she had in her first three seasons combined. The Columbus, Ind. native is coming off an outstanding performance at the Big 12 Championships, where she tied for ninth place with a career-best three-round total of 229.
Probst is MU's most experienced post-season golfer, as she has competed in each of the school's previous West Regional appearances. Probst tied for 98th as a sophomore in 1998 with a total of 251, and improved by one stroke in 1999 while tying for 94th overall (250).
Playing from the No. 4 spot is talented junior JAMIE TUCKER, who gives MU one of the most dangerous No. 4 players in the tournament. Tucker is looking to regain the form that saw her lead the Tigers down the stretch during the 1998-99 season. As a sophomore, Tucker played in the No. 2 spot at the West Regional, and led MU with a 31st place finish (230).
Tucker has averaged 78.24 strokes per round this season, off from her average of 77.46 a year ago. She's coming off a performance at the Big 12 Championships that saw her tie for 29th overall. Tucker was in contention for a top-10 finish after opening with rounds of 75 and 76, but a final-round 87 dropped her back and left her with a total of 238. She tied for 6th at the 1999 Big 12 Championships.
Tucker has four top-25 finishes this season, and one top-10 showing. Her low 54-hole total in the spring season was a 230 at the Utah-Dixie Classic, where she tied for 26th individually. Tucker will be making her second straight NCAA Regional appearance. She tied for 31st for the Tigers in 1999, leading MU with a 54-hole total of 230.
Rounding out the Tiger lineup is freshman ELIN OHLSSON, a native of Vetlanda, Sweden who will be making her first-ever NCAA Regional appearance.
Ohlsson has played in 8-of-10 outings for the Tigers this season, and carries a stroke average of 79.96 into the West Regional. Ohlsson has one top-25 finish on the year, when she tied for 11th at the Midwest Classic back in February.
Ohlsson is coming off a 45th-place showing at the Big 12 Championships, where she shot rounds of 80, 83 and 82 for a three-round total of 245.
Head Coach Tom Loyd
Leading the University of Missouri Women's Golf program into the NCAA Regional is Missouri native and MU graduate Tom Loyd.
Loyd, 49, has been associated with Tiger Golf for over 27 years. Now in his second season as head coach of the Tiger women's team, he has the women's program positioned among the Big 12 Conference's best. The Tigers have reached the NCAA West Regional in each of his two years at the helm.
Loyd took over as head coach in July of 1998, when longtime skipper Mary Scott stepped down after 13 years.
Under Loyd's direction, Missouri enjoyed one of its finest campaigns ever during the 1998-99 season.
Last season saw the Tigers win two tournaments and finish in the top five in five other competitions. As a result, MU qualified as a team for the NCAA West Regional for just the second time in school history.
Loyd's Tigers finished 16th at the regional, and did not advance to the NCAA Championships, but the team's appearance served notice that the program is one of the nation's up-and-comers.
A native of Carthage, Mo., Loyd has been closely associated with collegiate golf at MU since 1969. He was a four-year letterman for the Tiger men's team from 1969-72, and after serving in the U.S. Army from 1972 through 1974, he returned to MU to complete his master's degree in mathematics, which he earned in 1975.
He began assisting the Tiger men's golf team in 1977, and continued to work with former men's coach Richard Poe until 1997. From 1977-90, Loyd also served as the Assistant Golf Professional at the Country Club of Missouri.
After serving as the country club's head pro in 1991, Loyd began his association with Tiger women's golf in 1992, when he took over as interim head coach for Mary Scott, who would return to the post in 1993.