May 7, 2008 – Truman women’s golf finished six shots out of second place while men’s golfer Chris Kovach placed 13th overall at their respective NCAA Regionals this Monday through Wednesday. Freshman women’s golfer Kaytie Spangler qualified for NCAA Nationals after finishing in a tie for second at the women’s North Regional – finishing at +8 through the three rounds of competition.
Spangler (Ely, Minn.) was consistent throughout the tournament, shooting 75-76-73 to come in just two shots behind winner Sara Wolfe of Nebraska-Omaha. She had no score greater than a bogey at any point during the three days, and recorded five total birdies. She will join the UNO and Augustana (S.D.) teams, as well as Rachel Schmidt from Upper Iowa University, at the 2008 Division II National Championships Festival May 13-16 in Houston, Texas. Six other teams and individuals from other regions will round out the field.
UNO ran away with the top spot in the Grand Forks, N.D., regional by finishing with a team score of +49, while the other five squads were separated by just six shots for the second-place spot. Truman finished in a tie for fifth at +82, while Augustana won the second team bid to Nationals at +76.
Junior Julie Williams (Brookfield, Mo.) finished in a tie for 10th (+17), aided by a second-round 76, and sophomore Krystal Limsiaco (Houston, Texas) tied for 23rd. Freshman Jen Lawson (Mahomet, Ill.) shot a second-round 79 to help herself finish in 25th, while senior Marta Samojluk (Naperville, Ill.) wrapped up her collegiate career with a 30th place finish.
On the men’s side, freshman Chris Kovach (St. Louis, Mo.) finished in a tie for 13th place at the Central Regional in Findlay, Ohio, after shooting 12-over-par through the tournament’s three rounds. Kovach finished 12 shots behind the top individual and entered the final day in ninth place after shooting a second-round 73.
After starting on the 10th hole in Wednesday’s final round, Kovach, this year’s MIAA freshman of the year, bogeyed the opener before tripling the par-four 15th to move to four-over on the day. He did not record a birdie for the round in windy conditions which saw a Wednesday low score of even-par.