ISU Earns NCAA Regional Berth

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State women's golf team received the phone call it craved this afternoon when it was announced the Cyclones were one of 72 teams to qualify for NCAA postseason play in women's golf.

The Cyclones were selected to the NCAA West Regional, held May 6-8 at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. It ends a 14-year drought of postseason play, as the Cyclones will make their first NCAA Regional appearance since 1996. The top eight teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall-Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C.

It was a bittersweet moment for ISU head women's golf coach Christie Martens. Now in her fifth full season at the helm, Martens witnessed her previous teams fall just shy of qualifying in recent years. To watch her team celebrate their selection was an extremely gratifying moment for Martens.

“I am really excited for our team,” Martens said. “The team played so well in the Big 12 Championships and it's a great stepping stone for our program to make regionals. I'm so proud to see how they have grown this year and how much they've come together and really improved.”

The Cyclones were in solid shape for a regional berth prior to the Big 12 Championships, but solidified a spot in the postseason with a fourth-place showing at the conference meet. It was the best-ever finish for ISU in the Big 12 Championships since the league was formed in 1996-97.

ISU was led by freshman Punpaka Phuntumabamrung, who tallied the best finish by a Cyclone in a Big 12 Championship by tying for seventh. The rookie was a model of consistency throughout the week, carding rounds of 74-74-75 (223). Phuntumabamrung was joined by junior Laurence Herman as top-10 finishers for the Cyclones. Herman placed 10th behind a final-round 72.

“I thought I played really well, but my putts didn't fall early,” Herman commented on her stellar final round. “Suddenly, I chipped in for eagle on the 13th hole and then on the next hole I hit a good shot and made birdie, so that really gave me a good stretch.”

The emergence of Phuntumabamrung and Herman this weekend was pleasing to Martens.

“It was so exciting for her (Phutumabamrung) as a freshman to have such a great finish,” Martens said. “She just played solid all week. She made a few bogies, but she was able to really finish solid and show a lot of toughness which was great. I think everyone from top to bottom showed a lot of grit and they just grinded out their rounds and it was really exciting.”

ISU's senior captain Pennapa Pulsawath, who is on the verge of becoming the school's single-season stroke average leader at 74.6, will get a chance to continue her outstanding career. Pulsawath has played in 42 consecutive tournaments and has six top-10 finishes in 11 events this year.

“I'm really proud of my team right now,” Pulsawath said. “The fact that I didn't play great last week and my teammates really stepped up really shows what this team can achieve.”

Click on the video tab on the photo above to watch interviews from Martens and the ISU players.

Iowa State Women's Golf National Tournament Appearances
1972- AIAW Championship, 18th place
1975- AIAW Championship, 17th place
1982- AIAW Championship, 23rd place
1993- NCAA East Regional, 11th place
1994- NCAA East Regional, 19th place
1995- NCAA East Regional, 18th place
1996- NCAA East Regional, 15th place
2010-NCAA West Regional, Palo Alto, Calif.

2010 NCAA West Regional Participants
UCLA, Alabama, Arizona, Ohio State, Virginia, Stanford, LSU, California, Texas A&M, Texas, UC Davis, Arkansas, UNLV, San Jose State, San Francisco, Idaho, UC Irvine, Iowa State, Maryland, Colorado State, Oral Roberts, Texas State, Pennsylvania, Portland State

Players Mentioned

Laurence Herman

Laurence Herman

Punpaka Phuntumabamrung

Pennapa Pulsawath

Pennapa Pulsawath

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics