Women’s Golf Opens NCAA Regional Play Thursday

TROY, Alabama – The two-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy women's golf team opens play at the NCAA South Bend Regional Thursday at 7 a.m. at The Warren Golf Course. The Trojans enter their second straight Regional appearance as the No. 16 seed.

Four of the five Trojans who competed in last year's NCAA East Regional will be in the lineup for head coach Bart Barnes this year, and it will be the same lineup that has produced team victories in Troy's last two tournaments of the season.

"We've been playing really well down the stretch and that really helps from a coaching standpoint," Barnes said. "I keep reminding them that they are the back-to-back Sun Belt champions and that they are a really good team. They know that if we play our best golf and play confidently that we can move on from this Regional."

The top six teams in the 18-team field will move on to the NCAA Championship at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. Troy enters the South Bend Regional ranked 64^th nationally by BirdieFire, 77^th by Golfweek and 82^nd by Golfstat.

Sophomore Fátima Fernández Cano leads the Trojans with a 73.42 stroke average and a 1.49 score vs. par. Cano's stroke average would set the Troy single-season record by 1.54 strokes, while her 74.55 career average is the best in school history by 2.13 strokes.

Cano carded the two lowest rounds in school history this season (65 & 67), the lowest 36-hole score in school history (141) and the two lowest 54-hole scores in school history (210, 214) en route to earning a spot on the All-Sun Belt First Team in addition to being the frontrunner for Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.

Senior Langley Vannoy is peaking at the right time for the Trojans as the All-Sun Belt Second Team selection finished third at the Sun Belt Championship with the fifth-lowest 36-hole score in Troy history (145).

Vannoy and Taylor McGraw are tied for second on the team with a 76.12 stroke average heading into Regional play and the duo rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in school history for their career averages.

McGraw has fired three rounds under par on the year and has turned in five top 25 performances, both rank second among the Trojans. She has been a consistent force for the Trojans all year as 90.4 percent of her rounds have counted towards the team card.

Sydney Conrad and Becca Horner enter the Regional tied for fourth among the Trojans with a 77.48 stroke average. Horner is coming off a fifth place finish at the Sun Belt Championship after shooting the first under-par round of her career (71), while Conrad carded four rounds of 74 or lower in her final eight rounds of the year.

The Trojans will get their first look at the course Wednesday during their practice round, but they should see some familiar aspects as they make their way through the par 72, 6,301-yard track.

"The greens are a little smaller and that is something that we are used to," Barnes said. "The difference for us is going to be the chipping from the rough because of the different type of grass. The course is very green with thick grass everywhere; it has a very natural look to it and is a beautiful course.

"The style of golf we play is going to fit here," Barnes said. "We just have to convert on some birdies when we get some short clubs in our hands."

The rest of the NCAA South Bend Regional field includes No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 Duke, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 20 UC Davis, No. 23 Pepperdine, No. 26 Tulane, No. 30 Notre Dame, No. 33 Purdue, No. 39 Kent State, No. 41 Louisville, No. 45 San Jose State, No. 52 North Carolina, No. 54 Kentucky, No. 81 Harvard, No. 135 Eastern Kentucky and No. 167 Youngstown State.

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Conrad

Becca Horner

Taylor McGraw

Langley Vannoy