SAKAMOTO FINISHES TIED FOR 54TH AT NCAA EAST REGIONAL

Thursday, May 6

TBA

James Madison University

NCAA Regional Championship

5/9/2010 1:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

GREENVILLE, N.C., May 8, 2010 - James Madison sophomore Nicole Sakamoto (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani) shot a 5-over-par 77 in the final round of the 2010 NCAA Women's Golf East Region Championship held at the Ironwood Golf Club in Greenville, N.C. on Saturday.

Sakamoto finished the 54-hole event with a 8-over-par 224 (71-76-77) to finish tied for 54th out of 122 golfers.

The sophomore started her day with back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes before settling with a par and a birdie on the next two holes. After playing the 14th through 18th holes at 1-under-par over the first two days, Sakamoto struggled on that stretch on Saturday, carding a bogey on four of the five holes to enter the back nine at 4-over-par. On the back nine, she pared six of the first eight holes before finishing the tournament with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.

South Carolina claimed the team regional title with a 54-hole total of even par 283-291-290=864 to hold off second place Tennessee (283-287-296=866). Auburn (280-295-293=868) and Duke (290-279-300=868) both finished four shots back of the Gamecocks in a tie for third. Vanderbilt, Tulane, Pepperdine and TCU claimed the fifth through the eighth spots, respectively, to qualify for the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships, scheduled for May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall's Pete Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C.

Katie Burnett of South Carolina claimed the individual medalist honors with a 6-under-par 210 (67-72-71). Carlie Yadloczkly of Auburn finished one stroke behind Burnett with a 68-73-70=211. Rosalyn Kim of Texas Tech and Nina Muehl of East Tennessee State earned the two individual spots from the East Regional for the National Championships.