AUBURN, Ala. – Emily Tubert knows the power of one. At last year’s SEC Championship, she shed a tear when supporters “called the hogs” after host Arkansas lost by one stroke. Weeks later, she was holding her breath around the ninth green at the NCAA Central Regional, the fate of her team’s future in the hands of an Oregon player.

That time, the Razorbacks fell on the right side of one. They squeaked into nationals in their region’s eighth and final position.

“It’s amazing,” said Tubert. “You hit so many golf shots ... hundreds of shots over three days with five girls, and it comes down to one.”

On Thursday, 72 teams at three regional sites will try to qualify for the 24-team NCAA Championship in Athens, Ga. It’s an odd 54-hole event in that more attention is paid to the team that finishes eighth rather than first. Eight teams advance from each site.

Arkansas is the No. 2 seed in a solid NCAA East Regional field. Tubert, noting the depth of this year’s team, expects to battle at the top of this year’s leaderboard against top-seeded Alabama, the 2012 NCAA champion.

Tubert’s final-round ...

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Cheryl Stacy has announced she will resign as head coach of the Michigan women’s golf team. Stacy is at the end of her fourth season as head coach of the Wolverines, a position she took after four seasons as an assistant coach.

“It has been a great honor to have been at the University of Michigan over the last eight years,” said Stacy. “Throughout my time in Ann Arbor, I have had the privilege of surrounding myself with some of the greatest student-athletes and many, many quality young ladies. Being able to help and mentor them on and off the golf course is something I will always remember fondly. I wish nothing but great success for the program in the future.”

During Stacy’s career, Michigan twice advanced to the NCAA Central Regional as a team. Michigan, ranked No. 88 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, ended its season with a 10th-place finish at the Big Ten Championship on April 28.

Michigan will begin an immediate search for Stacy’s replacement.

Information from Michigan Athletics used in this report

Detroit has entered the bonus period. With nine victories so far this season and Horizon League Championship rings on the way, anything else that happens this spring is only icing on the cake.

“That’s the tournament where, when we think about it, everything we do is, ‘Do this for the Horizon League,’ ” said junior Lindsey Lammers, Detroit’s leading scorer.

The Titans accomplished the unthinkable April 28 by earning a ninth season victory at the conference championship, their 11th start this season. That victory total ties the total number of team titles Detroit has won since the program’s inception in 2005. Head coach Terri Anthony-Ryan has been the only coach.

The 1994-95 Arizona State team that won 10 times in a season, ending with the NCAA Championship, is thought to hold the women’s record for most victories in a season.

Detroit’s success this season is mind-numbing. But as you trace your way through the Titans’ results, the MAC Preview, this team’s third start of the season, seems wildly out of place. It’s not only the one tournament out of 11 that resulted in something less than a runner-up finish, but the Titans finished last ...

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Women’s regional play begins May 9 at three sites across the country. Here are some random thoughts heading into postseason:

Sure winning is important, but that has never been the point of a regional. Regionals are a qualifier for the national championship, so finishing in the top eight and advancing to the grand finale is the focus this week. For many teams, that is the goal each year: Earn a spot in the NCAA Championship. Only a few teams have a shot at winning the title, but advancing to the finals is is what most programs consider to be a successful year.

Speaking of winning the title, the eventual NCAA champion has won the regional title seven times in the past 11 years. There is certainly some stock in winning a regional. Odds are a regional winner will win the championship this year.

That brings us to regional victories. Since the NCAA went to a three-regional format in 2001, top-ranked USC and UCLA have each won seven regional titles. Those teams are followed by Duke, with five regional titles. No other team has won more than two.

Now back to the qualifying point about regional play. The women’s ...

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NCAA women’s regionals kick off on May 9 at three sites around the country. The top eight teams in each of the 24-team fields will advance to the national championship, to be played May 21-24 at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.

Our women’s college golf gurus have predicted which eight teams will advance out of each regional. How did we do last year? Lance Ringler correctly picked 16 of the 24 teams at the national championship. Beth Ann Baldry and Julie Williams correctly picked 15.

Regional sites and staff picks listed below:

East: Auburn (Ala.) University GC

Central: Jimmie Austin OU GC, Norman, Okla.

West: Stanford (Calif.) University GC

Click here for complete regional fields

Lance Ringler

East: Alabama, Arkansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma State, Texas, Northwestern

Central: Duke, Oklahoma, Florida, Washington, Arizona State, UC Davis, Michigan State, Iowa State

West: USC, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Stanford, Georgia, Baylor, Pepperdine

• • •

Beth Ann Baldry

East: Alabama, Arkansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma State, Texas, Northwestern

Central: Duke, Oklahoma, Florida, Washington, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Michigan State, N.C. State

West: USC, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Stanford, Georgia, Baylor, Pepperdine

• • •

Julie Williams

East: Alabama, Arkansas, UCLA, North ...

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The NCAA has announced the 21 teams and six individuals that will compete in the Division III Women’s National Championship field. The championship will be held May 14-17 at the Baytowne Golf Course at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Fla.

Teams:

• Mary Hardin-Baylor

• Methodist

• Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges

• DePauw

• Williams

• George Fox

• Washington University in St. Louis

• Texas at Tyler

• Centre College

• Illinois Wesleyan

• Middlebury

• St. Olaf

• Southwestern Texas

• Birmingham-Southern

• Olivet

• Wisconsin-Stout

• Wartburg

• Otterbein

• Franklin

• Carroll (Wis.)

• Concordia (Wis.)

Individuals: Emily Javadi, University of the South; Sharon Li, Ithaca; Elizabeth Cheng, Hollins; Emily Guthrie, Whitworth; Catherine Wagner, Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Doyle O’Brien, St. Thomas (Minn.)

When Auburn hosts the NCAA East Regional later this week, head women’s golf coach Kim Evans won’t be there. Evans is taking a brief leave of absence due to undisclosed health issues, according to the university.

“I am very disappointed to have to miss the NCAA Regional, but your health is just something that you don’t play with,” Evans said in a university press release. “The doctors advised me to take care of everything now, so that is what we did. I am feeling better, though, and hope to be back with the team at nationals in a couple weeks.”

Auburn won the SEC Championship in 2012, but missed advancing to the national championship by nine shots. The Tigers this year enter regionals ranked No. 39 by Golfweek, and with the No. 14 seed.

Former Tiger All-American Danielle Downey, who has been a student assistant this season, will lead the team during the NCAA Regional, which begins May 9. Downey played at Auburn from 1999-2003.

Information from Auburn Athletics used in this report

Senior Anderson earned her 20th career victory at the Summit League Championship on April 24, and her third conference title. Of those 20 victories, 18 were in Division I fields, which breaks the unofficial record Juli Inkster set at San Jose Sate. Inkster won 17 times, all in Division I fields. Anderson will play the NCAA West Regional with her North Dakota State teammates beginning May 9.

The Bison claimed their first Summit League Championship on April 24. It was the first time a team other than Oral Roberts has won the league title, as Oral Roberts made its Southland Conference debut this year. North Dakota State finished 11 shots ahead of runner-up UMKC and will now play its first NCAA Regional in program history.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Annika Intercollegiate, a new college golf tournament co-founded by the Annika Foundation and Golfweek, will be held Sept. 27-30, 2014 at Reunion Resort near Orlando, Fla.

The 54-hole, stroke-play event will take place on Reunion’s Watson Course and feature 12 teams from the top Division I women’s programs.

Also scheduled for the tournament weekend is a gala reception during which Annika Sorenstam, who retired in 2008 with 72 LPGA victories, will present the inaugural Annika Award to the nation’s best female player in college golf.

The recently announced Annika Award is the female equivalent of the Haskins Award, which for 42 years has been given to the most outstanding Division I male golfer. Selection is governed by the Haskins Commission of Columbus, Ga., which will oversee the vote of players, coaches and media for the Haskins and Annika awards.

USC, Duke and Alabama will take the No. 1 seeds into their respective regionals as NCAA postseason play begins May 9. They are among the 72 teams that will make up three NCAA Regional fields around the country.

Pac-12 Conference champion USC, the top-ranked team in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, is atop the West Regional field, followed by Arizona, another Pac-12 team. Vanderbilt, Purdue and Stanford round out the top five seeds. Earlier in the year, USC won the Stanford Invitational at Stanford Golf Course, the site of the West Regional.

Duke, coming off a 24-shot victory at the ACC Championship, is No. 1 in the Central Regional. It will be played at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course in Norman, Okla., site of this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. Oklahoma is the No. 2 seed and will play on its home course.

Alabama, which won the team title in five of its six spring starts, is No. 1 in the East Regional, hosted by Auburn. Arkansas, UCLA and North Carolina also are in the East Regional.

In addition to the 24 teams that make up each regional field, six players will compete as individuals ...

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Defending Division II women’s champion Nova Southeastern will be the No. 1 seed in the South Region for this year’s championships. Also receiving top seeds: Central Oklahoma, Indianapolis and St. Edward’s.

Four 54-hole super regionals will take place May 5-7. The top three teams and the top three individuals not with a team will play in the 72-hole championships, to be held May 15-18 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

• • •

Central Region

St. Joseph (Mo.) Country Club; Missouri Western State University, host

Teams

1. Central Oklahoma

2. Augustana (South Dakota)

3. Northeastern State

4. Harding

5. Southwestern Oklahoma State

6. Arkansas Tech

7. Henderson State

8. Minnesota State Mankato

9. Concordia-St. Paul

Individuals

1. Steph Charteris, Northwest Missouri State

2. Natalie Bird, Missouri Western State

3. Tavia Rutherford, Sioux Falls

4. Ana Summers, Nebraska-Kearney

• • •

East Region

Joliet (Ill.) Country Club; Lewis University, host

Teams

1. Indianapolis

2. California (Pennsylvania)

3. Grand Valley State

4. Ashland

5. Ferris State

6. Findlay

7. Missouri-St. Louis

8. Southern Indiana

9. Drury

Individuals

1. Steph Peareth, Concord

2. Abby Vorreyer, Illinois-Springfield

3. Kasey Frazier, Wheeling Jesuit

4. Ali Reed, Merrimack

• • •

South Region

Lone Palm Golf Club, Lakeland, Fla.; Florida Southern College, host

Teams

1. Nova Southeastern

2. Lynn

3. Rollins

4. Florida Southern

5. Barry

6. Florida Tech

7. West Florida

8. Armstrong

9. Newberry

Individuals

1. Meghan Moore, UNC Pembroke

2. Teresa Calballer Hernani, Lander

3. Emee ...

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Northwestern and Purdue were named co-champions at the Big Ten Conference Championship on April 28. The Boilermakers gained five shots on Northwestern in the final round, climbing into the tie.

Northwestern’s final-round 14-over 302 was the team’s highest score of the week at French Lick Resort’s Donald Ross Course in French Lick, Ind. Still, the Wildcats, No. 24 in Golfweek’s rankings, were able to stay level with No. 9 Purdue, which finished with a 9-over 297. Both teams finished 54 holes at 20-over 884, which is the lowest team total in conference history. The Big Ten Championship is a play-six-count-four format.

Purdue hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 2010. This is Northwestern’s first conference-championship victory in program history. All five Wildcats finished inside the top 25. Kaitlin Park (sixth) was the low Northwestern player.

Purdue senior Paula Reto won the individual title by a seven-shot margin. Reto finished at 4-under 212 while Michigan State’s Caroline Powers was a 3 under and in solo second. Powers is ranked No. 23 by Golfweek, and Reto is No. 27.

Michigan State, attempting a Big Ten title defense, finished third, five shots behind the co-champions.

For complete scores, click here.

North Dakota State swept the team title and the individual title at the Summit League Championship at Sky Creek Ranch GC. The team won by 11 strokes over Missouri-Kansas City with a total of 85-over 949 to take home its first conference championship. All five Bison placed in the top 20.

Missouri-Kansas City finished in second followed by IUPUI in third at 110-over.

Amy Anderson claimed the individual title to become to first three-time individual champion for the Sumitt League. She now has won 20 titles in her career as a Bison, 18 of which are Division I wins. Anderson has now surpassed Juli Inkster’s record for career collegiate victories. Two of her victories were in Division II- and Division-III fields.

Anderson shot rounds of 76-73-74 to win by 11 shots. South Dakota States Morgan Fits finished in second at 18-over 234 total. Another stroke back was Missouri-Kanasas City’s Emily Isaacson.

For complete scores, click here.

No. 21 Tulane won its fifth Conference USA Championship, and its third in the last five years, with a 27-stroke victory Wednesday after shooting 3-over 291 in the final round at Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Tulane started the final round with a 12-stroke cushion over East Carolina. The 27-stroke margin of victory was Tulane's largest in its five league championships. The Wave finished with a 13-over 877 total.

All five Green Wave golfers finished in the top 10, including sophomore Gemma Dryburgh, who tied for first before falling in a playoff. East Carolina's Nico Engstroem Skaug won the three-way playoff.

Tulane freshmen Emily Penttila and Silvia Garces each finished fourth-place finishes. Garces shot 2-over 74 in the final round, while Penttila shot 3-over 75. They finished 5-over 221 during the 54-hole event.

This is Tulane's sixth win since its women's golf program was re-launched in 2008-09. This is Tulane's first C-USA title since winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. Tulane also claimed league titles in 2004 and 2005. This was the Wave's first tournament win this season.

East Carolina finished second at 36 over ...

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