April 26, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's golf squad has qualified for the 21-team NCAA Central Regional competition in Normal, Ill., members of the NCAA Women's Golf Committee announced on Monday. The Tigers are the No. 8 seed in the Regional.

Mizzou returns as a team to the competition for the sixth time in seven years and for the second straight year under 2004 Big 12 Coach of the Year Stephanie Cooper. The Tigers will be competing at University Golf Course (Par 71, 5995 yards) on the campus of Illinois State with play set to begin on Thurs., May 6, and conclude on Sat., May 8.

"We are looking forward to this opportunity to compete against some of the top teams in the country," Cooper said. "I am really proud of the way our kids stayed the course throughout the season and I think we still have some of our best golf ahead of us. We have some familiarity with the course in Normal and hopefully we can compete at a high level."

The Tigers' other trip to Normal this year was anything but (normal) as they picked up their first team championship under Coach Cooper at the Illinois State Invitational last fall. The Tigers shot a final-round 296 and a team total of 900. Three Tigers finished in the top five individually at the tournament.

There will be some familiar faces for the Tigers as Big 12 foes Oklahoma (seeded No. 5), Texas A&M (11), Kansas State (12), and Baylor (18) will also be competing in the Central Region. The Big 12 fared well once again as eight schools were selected to compete in regional competition. Oklahoma State will travel to the East Regional and Texas and Texas Tech will compete in the West Regional.

The Central Regional is one of three tournaments being held to determine the NCAA National Championship field. If the Tigers can finish in the top eight of the Regional, they will advance to the NCAA National Championships, which will be held in Auburn, Ala.., from May 18-21.

Live scoring will be provided at www.GolfStat.com and through www.MUTigers.com.. Below is a complete listing of the schools competing in the Central Regional.

Central Regional

University Golf Course (Par 71, 5,995 yards)

Normal, Illinois

May 6-8

Vanderbilt
New Mexico
Arizona
USC
Oklahoma
Michigan State
Tulsa
Missouri
TCU
Arkansas
Texas A&M
Kansas State
Indiana
SMU
Kent State
Purdue
Northwestern
Baylor
Notre Dame
Princeton
Illinois State