Kent State University
NCAA Championship
No. 14 Women's Golf To Begin NCAA National Championship
5/17/2017 3:03:00 PM | Women's Golf
KENT, Ohio – The No. 14 Kent State University women's golf team has arrived in Sugar Grove, Illinois with one goal in mind, bring home the 2017 NCAA National Championship.
The Golden Flashes are set to compete from May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms. The tournament format includes 24Â teams competing over the first three rounds of stroke play from Friday to Sunday. The field is reduced to 15 teams for the final round of stroke play Monday, after which the NCAA will crown an individual medalist. On Tuesday, the top eight teams will compete in match play quarter and semifinals. Finally, the remaining two teams will compete Wednesday for the NCAA National Championship. The Golf Channel will broadcast the final three days of competition.
All 24 teams in the field competed last week in four separate regional tournaments. Every team finished in the top-6 to earn their spot in the final dance. The field is highlighted by the top-3 teams in the country: No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Florida. The rest of the field is as follows:
| No. 1 Stanford | No. 2 Alabama | No. 3 Florida |
| No. 5 Florida State | No. 6 USC | No. 7 Arizona State |
| No. 8 Duke | No. 9 Furman | No. 11 South Carolina |
| No. 12 Northwestern | No. 13 Miami | No. 14 Kent State |
| No. 16 Texas | No. 17 Baylor | No. 21 California |
| No. 24 Purdue | No. 25 Ohio State | No. 28 Michigan |
| No. 30 Texas Tech | No. 31 Pepperdine | No. 35 North Carolina |
| No. 37 Clemson | No. 38 Oregon | No. 44 Michigan State |
The Flashes will bring their same five from the regional tournament in Wad Phaewchimplee, Michaela Finn, Kelly Nielsen, Pimnipa Panthong and Karoline Stormo. Four out the of five golfers have yet to experience a NCAA National Championship. However, the lineup is stacked with talent and features three of the top 120 golfers in the country. Panthong stands out as the team's ace, ranking 15th in the nation and recently being named to the watch list for WGCA Freshman of the Year.
Together, the group has put together the best statistical season in program history. The team's scoring average of 289.58, 2.25-over par, is the program's best mark. Panthong, Phaewchimplee and Finn's scoring averages are among the four best individually, with Panthong currently averaging one of the 20 best season scores in NCAA history at 71.06.
This will be the fifth appearance at the NCAA National Championship for the women's golf team and the first since 2010. Kent State's best finish at Nationals came in 2001, when the Flashes finished 15th overall.
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament, while the Golf Channel will pick up the action in round four. Be sure to follow @KentStWGolf for updates throughout the tournament, including photos and video from the course.
Players Mentioned
