(Tempe, AZ) The eight-time national champion Sun Devil Women’s Golf team will head to Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, North Carolina after being selected to the Raleigh NCAA Regional, hosted by NC State running May 8-10.
GOLF Channel announced the regionals during their NCAA Women’s Golf Selection Show earlier today. Each regional will feature 12 teams and six individuals, with a total of 30 teams advancing to the National Championships to be played May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The top two individuals (12 total) from non-qualifying teams from each regional will also advance to the Championship.
This is the 30th consecutive year that Sun Devil Women’s Golf has qualified for a regional, doing so every time since the format was instituted. ASU has not missed a NCAA postseason since 1991. The program earned their 31st straight NCAA postseason berth and will be making its 40th overall appearance.
The program has claimed or shared a total of five Regional team championships, with the last coming during their National Championship run in 2017. A season ago, the Sun Devils had an impressive showing at the Stillwater Regional, finishing second on their way to reaching the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk in Scottsdale. ASU has put together back-to-back second place finishes at regionals, also doing so back at the 2021 Columbus Regional as part of their run to NCAA Match Play that season.
In the second year of the new regional format, six sites were selected instead of the typical four. New this year is an increase in advancing teams, changing from 24 to 30. In order to clinch a berth in the NCAA Championship and advance to Grahyawk, Arizona State will have to finish in the Top-5 of the 12-team Raleigh Regional. Five teams from each of the six regionals form the group that advances to play in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.
Arizona State will be the No. 2 seed in a regional that features No. 1 seed Wake Forest. The regional also includes No. 3 seed Florida State, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Arizona, No. 6 North Texas (C-USA Champion), No. 7 TCU, host school No. 8 NC State, No. 9 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 11 Campbell (Big South Champion), and No. 12 Richmond (Patriot League Champion).
Arizona State is one of only three schools to receive a Top-2 seed in each of the last three NCAA Regional selections. They are joined by only Wake Forest and South Carolina in this exclusive group, an indicator of the consistent success of Coach Farr-Kaye’s program.
“We are excited to have earned the #2 seed at the NC State regional,” Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye remarked. “We prepared our schedule knowing the possibility of having to head East for a regional. This group is ready for the challenge. The best is yet to come for our team!”
The Raleigh Regional features 6 of the Golfstat’s Top-35 ranked teams, including No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 14 Florida State and No. 21 Florida. The regional also has its fair share of individual star power, with nine of the Top-45 individuals in the Golfstat Player Rankings competing in Raleigh. Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn is the top-ranked player in the regional, coming in at No. 3. Arizona State has Ashley Menne not far behind at No. 31 in the nation in the latest poll.
The other five regional sites are Pullman, Washington, Westfield, Indiana, Athens, Georgia, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas. Eight of 11 Pac-12 teams made NCAA Regionals, a testament to the strength of arguable the best conference in women’s golf. Six teams from the league received Top-6 seeds led by No. 1 overall seed Stanford and No. 2 seeds Arizona State and Oregon.
2023 NCAA WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Arizona State and the Thunderbirds will host the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships for the third consecutive year, taking place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale May 19-31. This is the final of successful three-year run as the host school of the most prestigious event in all of college golf. Don’t miss your last chance to check out the top individuals and teams in the nation square off for the ultimate prize in your own backyard.
GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE
GOLF Channel will present the 2023 NCAA Women’s (May 22-24) and Men’s (May 29-31) Golf Championships, totaling nearly 75 hours of comprehensive coverage. The women’s championship will be held May 19-24, with GOLF Channel providing live coverage of the final day of individual championship play on May 22 as well as the team match play on May 23-24. See GOLF Channel full programming schedule.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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