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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebel Golfers Receive Bid to NCAA East Regional
6/21/1999 | Women's Golf
April 26, 1999
OXFORD, Miss. - For the second consecutive year, the Ole Miss Lady Rebel golf team is heading to the postseason. On Monday, the Lady Rebels received a bid to the NCAA East Regional for the second straight year. Ole Miss played in its first-ever NCAA East Regional in 1998.
The 1999 NCAA East Regional will be held May 6-8 at the University Club in Blythewood, S.C. The University of South Carolina will serve as the regional's host.
The Lady Rebels are the South No. 6 seed in the regional. Georgia is the South No. 1 seed, followed by LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Furman, Ole Miss, Florida State and South Florida. A total of 19 teams from the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions will be competing at the NCAA East Regional, with the top eight teams advancing to the NCAA National Championships May 19-22 in Tulsa, Okla.
"Last year, the team talked about starting a tradition, and these young ladies made a strong commitment to that by earning the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA East Regional," said Ole Miss head coach Keil Purdom, who is in her eighth year. "This year, we're taking that next step by qualifying for the NCAAs for the second straight season.
"I am very proud of the effort by these young ladies to reach their goal of making a return trip to the NCAAs. This is their team, and their hard work is starting this tradition. We're excited about going back to the NCAA East Regional, but we're not just glad to be there. We are heading to the regional with the intent of taking another step of establishing tradition at Ole Miss and being one of those eight teams advancing to the nationals."
At the 1998 NCAA East Regional, the Lady Rebels finished in a tie for 15th with a three-round score of 312-314-312--938. Robyn Rinaldo was the squad's highest finisher, placing 53rd with a score of 76-81-78--235.
The Lady Rebels will enter the NCAA East Regional with some momentum, after posting their best-ever finish at the Southeastern Conference
Championships by placing third. At the SEC Championships, four of the five Lady Rebel golfers placed among the top 20 with senior Megan Breen leading the Ole Miss effort. Breen placed fifth with a three-round score of 77-74-74--225, and was followed by freshman Kim Tudor in eighth (78-77-74--229), sophomore Marci Kornegay in 14th (80-76-75--231) and Rinaldo in 18th (74-78-80--232). Sophomore Teresa Brown placed 32nd with a score of 79-82-77--238. Breen and Rinaldo also earned All-SEC first team honors, and became the first two golfers in Lady Rebel history to receive conference first team recognition. In the 1998-99 campaign, the Lady Rebels have finished in the top-10 in all 10 of their tourmaments, including six top-five finishes. Ole Miss won the Lady Rebel Intercollegiate and was second at both the Beacon Woods Invitational and Central Florida Invitational.