May. 3, 2005

2005 NCAA Central Regional Notes
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Dates: May 5-7 (Thurs.-Sat.)

Site: The Rawls Course (Par 72 - 6,328)

Live Scoring: Live scoring will be provided at www.mutigers.com and www.golfstat.com.

Mizzou Head Coach: Stephanie Cooper (Mizzou'94), 4th year

No. 15 Tiger Women's Golfers Travel to Lubbock for NCAA Central Regional

The University of Missouri travels to Texas for the second straight tournament on Thursday as they open play in the 2005 NCAA Central Region Championships in Lubbock, TX. The Tigers are making their seventh appearance in Regional competition in the last eight years and their third appearance under fourth year Head Coach Stephanie Cooper.

This will be the Tigers' second tourney of the season in Lubbock as they also Jeannine McHaney Invitational in September where they finished in a tie for third.

The Tigers will open play Thursday morning and play 18 holes during each of the next three days. Live scoring for the event will be provided at www.mutigers.com via www.golfstat.com and complete daily recaps will be available following each round at www.mutigers.com.

The Field

Seed Team Golfstat Rank

1 Auburn 6
2 Arizona State 5
3 New Mexico 9
4 LSU 10
5 Wake Forest 18
6 Texas 22
7 Missouri 15
8 Arkansas 20
9 Michigan
10 Tulsa 21
11 TCU
12 SMU
13 Purdue
14 Michigan State
15 Kent State
16 Baylor
17 Texas A&M
18 South Florida
19 Texas Tech
20 Notre Dame
21 Long Island

Format

54 holes with 18 holes on Thursday, 18 holes on Friday and 18 holes on Saturday. Shotgun start will commence play at 7 am.

Note of Note from the 2004-05 Season

The Tigers are in search of the their fourth tournament title of the season and their seventh first-place finish under head coach Stephanie Cooper ... If the Tigers are able to advance to the NCAA Championships (which will be played May 17-20 in Sunriver, OR), it will be their first trip to the NCAA Championships in school history ... Mizzou has set records this season in the following categories this season ... Lowest Team 54-hole total: 879 at the Central District Invitational ... Lowest Individual 18 hole total: 66 by Maria Ohlsson at the Lady Northern Classic ... Lowest Individual 54-hole total: 214 by Maria Ohlsson at the Lady Northern Classic ... The Tigers are on pace to shatter the school record for team 18-hole average by four strokes at 300.2 (the old record was set last season at 303.0) ... The Tigers' three first place finishes this season equals a school record they set last season.

Ohlsson and Knaebel Named to All-Big 12 First Team

Senior Maria Ohlsson and junior Denise Knaebel were named to the All-Big 12 First Team. This marked the first time that the Tigers have had two members of the squad named to the first team in league history. Knaebel and Oklahoma State junior Karen Sjodin were the lone repeat selections from a year ago while Ohlsson and Oklahoma State senior Annie Thurman-Young moved up from second to first team.

Knaebel and Ohlsson have both put together two of the most prolific seasons in MU women's golf history. They have led the No. 14 Tigers to three team titles and both rank in the top 10 in the Big 12 in stroke average. Ohlsson paces the Tigers with a 74.48 stroke average (which would be a school record if the season were to end today) and has recorded eight top 10 performances in ten tournaments played on the year. The highlight of the talented senior's season came at the first tournament of the fall at the Lady Northern Classic when she set Mizzou records for low 18-hole total (66), low 54-hole total (214) on her way to her first victory of her career.

Knaebel has been equally as impressive with a 74.85 stroke average, which ranks second on the squad. Knaebel has finished in the top 20 in seven of the nine tournaments she has played in so far this season and has four top 5 finishes to her credit on the season. The two time All-Big 12 First Team honoree also earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors for the second straight season.

Head Coach Stephanie Cooper

In just four years at the helm, Missouri Head Women's Golf Stephanie Cooper has pushed the University of Missouri women's golf program into the national spotlight and to unprecedented heights in the college golf world. Over the past four years, Cooper has led the Tigers to 35 top-10 finishes and 23 top three finishes. Mizzou has been a fixture in the GolfStat.com rankings throughout the season this year and looks to move into contention for the NCAA Championships in on May 17-20 in Corvalis, OR.

Cooper has brought a level of energy and enthusiasm to the table that is infectious and inspiring. That energy and excitement was augmented this year as the Tigers completed one of the most successful regular season women's golf campaigns in school history. Mizzou finished in the top three in seven of the nine tournaments it competed in. Cooper has led the Tigers to three tournament victories this season and to six tournament wins over the course of the last two seasons. She has also guided the Tigers to several team and individual records this year including lowest 18-hole average (299.3) and lowest 54-hole team total (879). In fact, six of the Tigers' scores this season have managed to jump into the team total top 10.

With the success the Tigers experienced during the 2003-04 season, the coaches from around the Big 12 voted Cooper the Big 12 Coach of the Year, her first such honor. Following the rain-shortened Big 12 Championships (in which Mizzou finished sixth), it was announced that Cooper and Tigers would be headed back to NCAA Central Regional competition for the second straight year during her tenure and for the sixth time in the last seven years.