K-State Selected as 13th Seed in NCAA Athens Regional
Apr 27, 2017 | Women's Golf
Reaction | Coach Knight Interview | Madison Talley Interview
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women’s golf team was rewarded for a successful season on Thursday as the Wildcats were selected as the No. 13 seed in the 2017 NCAA Athens Regional, May 8-10, at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia.
“It is really exciting to make a regional. It’s hard to advance. There are about 256 teams that play NCAA Division I women’s golf and we’re one of 72 teams that are still playing,” head coach Kristi Knight said. “I am really proud of the team. We have had our ups and downs this year, but they have hung together and we have played a lot of good golf.”
K-State, making its first regional appearance since 2004, will be joined in Athens by No. 1 seed Alabama, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Northwestern, No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 Baylor, No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 7 Central Florida, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 10 Clemson, No. 11 Augusta, No. 12 Auburn, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 15 Troy, No. 16 Princeton, No. 17 North Florida and No. 18 Quinnipiac.
From each of the four regionals across the country, the low six teams and the low three individuals not on those teams (for a total of 24 teams and 12 individuals) advance to the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf National Championships, May 19-24, at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
The Wildcats are led by a trio of seniors in Katherine Gravel-Coursol, Paige Nelson and Madison Talley. Regional play will not be new to Talley as she was selected to participate as an individual each of the last two seasons. The Clarksville, Arkansas, native tied for 23rd in the 2015 NCAA San Antonio Regional before a 12th-place tie in the 2016 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, narrowly missing a trip to the National Championship.
“It’s been a long time coming; all of us are really excited,” Talley said. “Katherine and I were talking about this when we were freshmen, and for it to finally happen is a big deal for all of us.”
The Wildcats won two team championships during the season, the first being at the Chip-N Club Invitational in September followed by the Westbrook Invitational in February. K-State is on pace for the third-lowest stroke average in school history, a mark that currently sits at 297.4, and is led by three players with stroke averages below 75.00 in junior Connie Jaffrey (74.28), sophomore Chloe Weir (74.64) and Talley (74.71).
Jaffrey has a pair of top-five finishes this year, including an individual victory in the Greenville Regional Preview in October, while Talley and Nelson have also captured a pair of top-five showings.
This year’s women’s championships will be broadcast for the third-consecutive year by Golf Channel with more than 100 news and tournament hours planned for the men’s and women’s golf championships.
