May 16, 2005
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No. 11 Missouri Women's Golf Squad Opens Play in 2005 NCAA Championships on Tuesday
The No. 11 University of Missouri women's golf squad will be making history on Tuesday afternoon when they tee off at the 2005 NCAA National Championships. The Tigers will be making their first appearance at the event in school history and come in as one of the hottest teams in the country. Led by fourth year head coach Stephanie Cooper, the Tigers have recorded six top top-three finishes on the season including three tournament championships.
Mizzou recorded its best finish ever in NCAA Regional competition two weeks ago with a third-place tally (291-312-302=905) at the Central Regional in Lubbock, TX. On the strength of that outstanding finish at the Regional, the Tigers have garnered their highest ranking of the season at No. 11 according to Golfstat.com as they head into the four-day event in Bend, OR.
The Tigers will open play Tuesday afternoon 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 FieldTeam Golf Stat Ranking
Arizona State 3
Arkansas 18
Auburn
Brigham Young
California 17
Duke 1
Florida 12
Furman 13
Michigan State
Missouri 11
Ohio State 8
Oklahoma State 10
Pepperdine 4
Purdue
Southern California 14
Stanford 21
Tennessee 6
Texas A&M
Tulane 9
Tulsa 20
UC Irvine
UCLA 2
Virginia 25
Washington 15
Format
72 holes with 18 holes on Tuesday, 18 holes on Wednesday, 18 holes on Thursday and 18 holes on Friday. Tee times for the first day are:
Madde Augustsson 3:30 pm
Mindy Bullard 3:40 pm
Kelli Strubinger 3:50 pm
Denise Knaebel 4:00 pm
Maria Ohlsson 4:10 pm
The Tigers will be playing with representatives from Furman and the University of California-Berkley in the opening round.
* All times are CST.
Note of Note from the 2004-05 Season
Mizzou is making its first appearance in the NCAA Women's Championships in school history ... 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 ... Mizzou recorded its best team finish in school history in Regional competition two weeks ago when it finished third in the three-day competition ... 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 almost three strokes at 300.3 (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.
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 36 top-10 finishes and 24 top three finishes. Mizzou has been a fixture in the GolfStat.com rankings throughout the season and will make its first appearance in the NCAA Women's Golf Championships on Tuesday afternoon.
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 (300.3) 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.
Tiger Competitors 2004-05 Stroke Avg. (Per 18) Maria Ohlsson (Sr., Vetlanda, Sweden) 74.56 Denise Knaebel (Jr., Moberly, MO) 74.97 Kelli Strubinger (Jr., Weldon Springs, MO) 75.97 Mindy Bullard (Sr., Warrensburg, MO) 76.22 Madde Augustsson (So, Solvesborg, Sweden) 77.85
2004-05 Tiger Awards
Maria Ohlsson All-Big 12 First Team Big 12 Medalist (4th place)Denise Knaebel All-Big 12 First Team Academic All-Big 12 First Team
Kelli Strubinger Academic All-Big 12 First Team
Stephanie Wavro Academic All-Big 12 First Team