Texas Tech women’s golf held off UCF at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional to reach the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in program history.
Texas Tech women’s golf is headed back to the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships after surviving a tense final round at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional.
The Red Raiders finished fifth on Wednesday at the University of Michigan Golf Course, grabbing the final qualifying spot and advancing to the national championship tournament for the fifth time in program history.
Texas Tech closed the regional at 22-over 874, just two shots ahead of No. 14 UCF, which finished sixth at 24-over.
It wasn’t easy. Texas Tech entered the final round in fourth after posting the best team score in the field Tuesday with a 1-over 285.
Wednesday brought tougher scoring conditions, and the Red Raiders shot 17-over 301, but they did enough to keep their season alive.
No. 2 USC won the regional at 1-over, followed by Ohio State at 6-over, No. 10 Duke at 16-over and Northwestern at 17-over. Texas Tech claimed the fifth and final spot.
Maja Ambroziak and Lauren Zaretsky carried the Red Raiders throughout the week, both tying for eighth at 1-over 214. Ambroziak opened with rounds of 69 and 70 before finishing with a 75, while Zaretsky went 71-68-75 to match her teammate inside the top 10.
Texas Tech also counted a final-round 75 from Cameron Freund and a 76 from Denisa Vodickova. Freund finished tied for 35th at 12-over, Klara Hurtova tied for 38th at 13-over and Vodickova tied for 42nd at 15-over.
Now the Red Raiders move on to Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, where the NCAA Championships run May 22-27.
The format begins with three rounds of stroke play before the field is cut to 15 teams for a fourth round. The top eight teams then advance to match play.
Texas Tech’s best NCAA Championship finish came in 2015, when the Red Raiders placed fifth nationally and reached match play.
Join Our Roundtable Community For Free! Share your takes, connect with our Roundtable writers, and talk sports with fellow fans. Download the free Roundtable App today and stay closer to the conversation.