AU women advance to national championship tournament
Staff report
Led by freshman Mirabel Ting, the upstart Augusta University women advanced to the NCAA Division I national championship tournament with a fifth-place finish in the Athens Regional on Wednesday, May 10, at the UGa. Golf Course.
It is the first-time in AU history that the women’s team has made the nationals.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said AU Coach Caroline Haase-Hegg. “We knew, coming into the week, if we took care of our business, we had a very, very good chance. As a coach, I have tried to instill belief and confidence in the girls that we don’t have to be perfect. We have to be good. We have to play our own game.”
Ting opened the tournament with a 74, but shot even and 5 under in the last two rounds, respectively, to lead the Jaguars to the nationals.
“The way Mirabel played on the back nine here today was just unbelievable,” Haase-Hegg said. “She is a 17-year-old freshman. Hats off to her for stepping up on the big stage and all the girls here for doing good things this week. I am just thrilled.”
Ting shot a final-round 67 to help the 11th-seeded Jaguars edge Ohio State by two shots for the fifth and final spot in the nationals from the Athens regional.
Ting tied for fifth with a 3-under-par 213 total for the 54-hole event. On the final day, Ting had five birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. She advanced 10 spots on the leaderboard after starting the final round in 15th place.
“I felt like I made a good comeback yesterday and was just focused on making nationals with the team,” Ting said. “After I eagled No. 10, the pace just kept up, my confidence level just kept going up and my putts started to drop a little more.”
Ting, who birdied 11, 14, 17 and 18 on the back nine Wednesday, did not play in the fall because she returned home to Malaysia to be with her ailing father.
“Last semester, I lost my dad,” she said, “so to be playing in nationals, I know he is proud. I am very proud for my team on making it to nationals.”
Haase-Hegg praised her freshman standout.
“I am so proud of her,” the AU coach said. “She has overcome a lot of adversity. She lost her father in the fall and had to go home to Malaysia and didn’t get to play for us. The fact that she came back, she has worked hard and had a spring semester like she has is a testament to her.”
Teammate Napabhach Boon-In shot a closing 73 to finish tied for 27th. She finished at 223.
AU finished four shots behind fourth-place Ole Miss.
The Jaguars’ Kennedy Carroll finished at 226 and Victoria Zheng at 231 over the par-72, 6,347-yard UGa. layout.
Host Georgia won the team championship by two shots over top-seeded South Carolina. The Gamecocks made a furious rally on the final day but came up just short. San Jose State finished third.
The Jaguars will now play in the national championship tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. That will be played at Grayhawk Golf Club beginning May 19 through May 24.
AU’s Napabhach Boon-In rolls a putt in the NCAA Division I Athens Regional at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Boon-In shot a 73 in the final round. At the top of the page, Mirabel Ting had a closing 67 to lead the Jaguars to a fifth-place finish. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
The AU women’s golf team celebrates after finishing fifth in the Athens Regional at the UGa. Golf Course. From left to right, Assistant Coach Oliver Rubenstein, Napabhach Boon-In, Daniela Ortega, Mirabel Ting, Kennedy Carroll, Chiara Sola, Victoria Zheng, Coach Caroline Haas-Hegg. (photo by AU Athletics)
