Titans Complete First Appearance At Women's Golf Regional

The Titans' initial trip to NCAA women's golf post-season play ended Saturday with a 23rd-place finish at the Central Regional in Columbus, IN.

UDM became the first Horizon League team ever to appear in a women's golf Regional by virtue of winning the 2010 conference championship. With the league's tallest trophy in hand, the Titans grabbed an automatic bid that was first extended to the HL champion by the NCAA this year.

Seeded 23rd in the field at Otter Creek Golf Club, the Titans maintained that position on the leader board throughout the tournament, opening play on Thursday with a 352, following in blustery conditions a day later with a 354, and finishing with a 358 in Saturday's cold final round. That left Detroit 17 shots ahead of SWAC Champion Jackson State, the 24th-place finisher, in the final standings.

Fifth-ranked Southern Cal won the Regional by eight shots over Arizona State to lead the eight teams advancing to the upcoming NCAA Championships. All told, the Central Regional included 16 schools ranked in the nation's Top 50.

Alainna Stefan (Dearborn, MI/Mercy) led Detroit as she came home tied for 91st place individually. The two-time All-Horizon League junior battled the tough conditions on Saturday to complete an 87-78-86-251 score card. Seniors Alex Aversa (LaSalle, ON/St. Thomas of Villanova) and Rachel McHenry (Livonia, MI/Stevenson) were next in line for the Titans, tied at 272.

"This was a great learning experience for our team. It was the longest course we've ever played and we got to see how the elite teams handle the length and tougher playing conditions compared to what we see during the regular season," said Titans coach Terri Anthony-Ryan, the 2010 Horizon League Coach of the Year. "It was also a great reward for the hard work our players put in this year to get this far."

Detroit will lose two players off this year's team in graduating seniors Aversa and McHenry. But, the Titans will have their other three starters back from the Regional in juniors Stefan and Marni Achterhoff(Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) and freshman Collette Hansen (West Olive, MI/Grand Haven). Additionally, UDM will return redshirt junior Liz Zouzal (Windsor, ON/Holy Names) and freshman Allison Sears (Clio, MI/Powers).

Additionally, the Titans will add three strong freshman recruits next fall in All-State honorees Lindsey Lammers (Milan, MI/Milan) and Brooke Adamczak (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) as well as Ontario importChristina Thorne (Kingston, ON/Bayridge).

"We're going to miss our two seniors without a doubt, but I think our team has the potential to be even stronger next year. We want to defend our conference championship and get back to the Regionals," Anthony-Ryan said. "The ladies are going to have to work harder than ever this summer to get back there and the freshmen will have to come in ready to help us right away."

Courtesy of Detroit's Sports Information Department