May 5, 2008

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - In the region that contains the top four teams in the nation, the Argos are fighting to stay alive in sixth place with round one in the books. The 12th ranked Argos are trailing five teams that are ranked in the top six in the nation. With 36 holes to go, the Argos are 26 strokes off the lead, set by #2 Rollins College at the Mission Inn Golf & Tennis Resort at Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.

Third ranked Nova Southeastern is four strokes behind Rollins for second place, while top ranked Florida Southern is six strokes back and in third place. Meanwhile, 4th ranked Barry is eight strokes off the lead, and 6th ranked Lynn is 16 strokes behind. The Argos are next in sixth place with a team score of 330.

Sandra Changkja of Nova Southeastern is the individual leader at even par, while the Argos Bhavna Shetty (Fr / Mysore, India) is tied for 11th best, at five over par. Tara Steakin (Fr / Wellington, Fla.) is 10 over par and in 26th place, while Rachel Christ (SR / Charlotte, NC) is +13, Meaghan Gulliksen (FR / Daytona Beach, Fla.) is +14, and Natalia Espinosa (SO / Bogota, Colombia) is +15, to round out the scoring for the Argos. The top ranked player in the nation, Laura Fourdraine is tied for 2nd place at one over par, with three other golfers. Round two is Tuesday, with the final round of the 54 hole tournament on Wednesday.

The top two teams in the Regional along with the top two individuals not with one of those qualifying squads, will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 13-16 at Memorial Park in Houston, TX. At least two of the top four ranked teams in the nation will not qualify for the National championships, since the top four teams are all in the very competitive south regional. The 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships will be hosted by the Rice University and the Harris County