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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
NCAA Regional
Women’s Golf Heads to Athens for NCAA Regionals
5/7/2023 | Women's Golf
Rebels Look to Return to NCAA Championships with Top 5 Team Finish
ATHENS, Ga. – The Ole Miss women's golf team opens its NCAA Tournament run this week with the NCAA Athens Regional, set to be played May 8-10 at the UGA Golf Course.
Composed of a total of 12 teams and six individuals, the Athens Regional stands between the Rebels and what could be just their fourth trip to the NCAA Championships in program history. In order to reach that point, however, the Rebels will need to sit in fifth place or better at the conclusion of this week's 54 holes of action.
Only the top five teams and top individual from a non-advancing team will be able to continue their season at Grayhawk Golf Club later this May in Scottsdale, Arizona.
| TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE |
Monday, May 8 – 18 holes of stroke play
Tuesday, May 9 – 18 holes of stroke play
Wednesday, May 10 – 18 holes of stroke play
| LINEUP |
Andrea Lignell (Sr.*)
-- Leads the team with a stroke average of 71.61 in 2022-23
-- Captured her first two career medalist finishes for the Rebels in the fall at the Cougar Classic and The Ally
-- Shot a 204 (-9) at the Cougar Classic, marking a new career-low 54-hole score and tying her for the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history
-- Has finished in the top 3 individually in six of her nine tournament appearances
-- Named to ANNIKA Award First Spring Watch List
-- 2022-23 First-Team All-SEC selection
-- Earned a third place finish at the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur, the highest finish for a Rebel in the tournament's history
Chiara Tamburlini (Sr.*)
-- Carries a 72.56 season stroke average in 2022-23
-- Earned Co-SEC Golfer of the Week honors after a third place finish at the Valspar Augusta Invitational
-- Competed at the 2023 Augusta National Women's Amateur, where she finished tied for 44th
-- Has finished in the Top 20 in 20 of her past 21 tournament appearances for the Rebels
-- 2022-23 Second-Team All-SEC selection
-- 2021-22 WGCA First-Team All-American
-- 2022 Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award winner
-- Named to ANNIKA Award Preseason and Final Fall Watch Lists
Elle Johnson (Sr.*)
-- Currently shooting a season stroke average of 75.08 in 2022-23
-- Saw a career weekend at the Clemson Invitational, earning a career-best finish of eighth place along with a career-low 54-hole score of 214 (-2)
-- Made her Rebel debut at the Cougar Classic, finishing tied for 34th
-- Nearly cracked the top 20 at The Ally after competing as an individual, shooting a 227 to finish 27th
-- 2022 Florida Women's Amateur Stroke Play Champion
-- Shot a course record round of 65 (-6) at Coral Creek Club in Placida, Florida to help claim the Florida Am title
Natacha Host Husted (So.)
-- Brings a 2022-23 stroke average of 74.87 into the Athens Regional
-- Maintained a 14th place finish at the Valspar Augusta Invitational
-- Grabbed a tie for 13th at the season-opening Cougar Classic
-- Earned her second straight top 20 finish after finishing 18th at the Blessings Invite
-- Finished in the top 20 once again at The Ally, claiming a share of 13th
-- 2021-22 SEC All-Freshman Team selection
Nicole Gal (Fr.)
-- Shooting a stroke average of 74.31 in her freshman campaign
-- Made her collegiate debut for the Rebels at The Ally, where she finished tied for 25th
-- Had a career weekend at the Clemson Invitational, where she logged new 18-hole (70) and 54-hole (219) scores to help the Rebels claim the team title
-- Also early bested her career-best finish while in Clemson, finishing tied for 27th overall
-- 2022 USGA Girls' Junior Championships Quarterfinalist
-- 2021 National Junior Girls Champion
| THE FIELD (IN ORDER BY SEEDING) |
1. #4 South Carolina
2. #9 San Jose State
3. #16 Ole Miss
4. #23 Ohio State
5. #30 Georgia
6. #33 Maryland
7. #41 Kent State
8. #47 Charleston
9. #51 Kansas
10. #63 Furman
11. #91 Augusta
12. #153 Sacred Heart
| THE COURSE |
Playing at 6,347 total yards as a par 72, the University of Georgia Golf Course opened in 1968 with the purpose of supporting the university community and a collegiate golf program. Over its history, the UGA Golf Course hosted a number of different collegiate tournaments including the annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, the Men's and Women's SEC Championships, Men's and Women's NCAA Regionals, as well as the women's collegiate national championships on five occasions - the 1971 Division of Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS) Intercollegiate Championships, the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Championships and the 1983, 1993 and 2013 NCAA Championships. This marks the course's first time hosting an NCAA Regional since the 2017 season.
| REBELS IN THE RANKINGS |
The Ole Miss women's golf squad enters the NCAA Athens Regional ranked as the No. 16 team in the nation according to Golfstat, as well as ranking No. 17 in the country according to Golfweek. Andrea Lignell continues to pace the Rebels in terms of individual rankings, with Lignell holding the No. 8 and No. 17 rankings overall by Golfweek and Golfstat, respectively. Chair Tamburlini also holds a spot in the Top 50 of each poll, coming in at No. 18 according to Golfweek and No. 27 according to Golfstat. Sophomore Natacha Host Husted round out the individual rankings for the Rebels, as she has officially moved up into Golfstat's Top 200 in the nation, coming in at No. 196.
| TRIO OF REBELS EARN SEC ACCOLADES |
Ole Miss women's golf saw three golfers come away with all-conference honors to wrap up the 2022-23 campaign, the Southeastern Conference announced last Thursday. Senior Andrea Lignell came away with her first All-SEC nod since being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2020, as Lignell earned First Team All-SEC honors. Fellow senior Chiara Tamburlini also came away with All-SEC honors for the second year in a row, with the St. Gallen, Switzerland, native coming away with a spot on the All-SEC Second Team. Ellen Hutchinson-Kay also was honored by the conference on Thursday, receiving a place on the SEC Community Service Team. This is the second time of Hutchinson-Kay's career that she has earned this designation.
| PALMER CUP AWAITS TAMBURLINI IN THE SUMMER |
For the second year in a row, Ole Miss senior Chiara Tamburlini received an invitation to be a part of the International Team roster at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup, which is set to run June 8-10 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The annual tournament, held this year in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, features both men's and women's collegiate golfers from the United States facing off against their international counterparts in a team competition. Team USA currently leads the all-time series 13-12-1. In last year's 2022 Palmer Cup, Tamburlini helped lead the International Team to victory over Team USA, competing in her home country of Switzerland. This also marks the fourth straight year that Ole Miss is being represented in the event either by a player or coach.
| TAMBURLINI NAMED SEC SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR |
At the conclusion of the third round of stroke play at the 2023 SEC Championship, Ole Miss senior Chiara Tamburlini was recognized by the conference as the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for her efforts in the classroom over her four-year career with the Rebels. Academically, Tamburlini has garnered a 3.97 cumulative GPA as she aims to graduate Summa Cum Laude later this May with her bachelor's in finance, as well as a minor in mathematics. The St. Gallen, Switzerland, native has also been recognized as a 2023 Taylor Medal nominee. The Taylor Medal serves as the highest academic honor conferred by the University of Mississippi and it is only awarded to less than one percent of the Ole Miss student body on an annual basis. Tamburlini has received countless academic accolades over her four years with the Rebels from the university, the SEC and the WGCA. These honors include being named the first Rebel to ever receive the Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award in 2022, which is awarded to the person who received WGCA All-American and WGCA All-American Scholar designations while having the highest GPA on the academic year. She has earned WGCA All-American Scholar status every year for the Rebels, along with finding a place on the Chancellor's Honor Roll and SEC Academic Honor Roll in each of her four years at Ole Miss. This marks the first time an Ole Miss women's golfer has claimed SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year status since 2016, when Abby Newton came away with the honor in her senior season with the Rebels.
| LIGNELL ENDS HISTORIC RUN AT ANWA IN THIRD |
Ole Miss women's golf senior Andrea Lignell capped off what was a historic weekend at the Augusta National Women's Amateur in April, earning a third-place finish at the prestigious event held at Augusta National Golf Club. Lignell had already made history prior to Saturday's final round in Augusta, with the senior becoming the first Rebel in program history to ever survive the day two cut at the ANWA. The senior also etched her name into the tournament record book, now holding the second-lowest 18-hole (67) and 36-hole (136) scores in the five-year history of the ANWA, trailing only this year's champion Rose Zhang. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native would ultimately finish her third round two-over par with a 74 (+2) in her very first official round played at Augusta National Golf Club. She leaves Augusta with a three-day score of 210 (-6), including a total of 13 birdies over her three rounds of action. Lignell's most impressive feat of day three was her performance on the course's infamous Amen Corner, consisting of a difficult stretch from Hole 11 to Hole 13. Lignell finished that stretch two-under par, standing as the best performance at Amen Corner of any golfer that played on the day.
| LIGNELL NAMED TO THE ANNIKA AWARD FIRST SPRING WATCH LIST |
Andrea Lignell found herself amongst 15 of the nation's top collegiate women's golfers named to The ANNIKA Award First Spring Watch List, presented by Stifel. The award is given annually to the most outstanding women's college golfer, as voted on by players, coaches and media. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native has had a historic run for the Rebels with Top 3 finishes in five of her eight tournament appearances in 2022-23, including two tournament wins. This marks the second time this season that Lignell has found her way onto the award's watch list, having been named to the final fall watch list with teammate Chiara Tambrulini earlier in the season.
| FOLLOW THE REBELS ON SOCIAL MEDIA |
For all Ole Miss women's golf latest news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf, on Instagram at OleMissWGolf and on Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf. General athletic news can also be found at @OleMissSports on Twitter, Ole Miss Sports on Facebook, and OleMissAthletics on Instagram.
Players Mentioned
