Women's golf team ready to compete in national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College women's golf team will head to Illinois for the NJCAA Division I National Championship beginning on Monday.

The Titans are ranked fifth in the final national poll and are making their fifth straight appearance in the national tournament. Eastern Florida State College received an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing fourth overall in the NJCAA Division I Southeast District Championship.

"It was disappointing they didn't get a spot at the district tournament but they had a good year and were rewarded," Eastern Florida State College women's golf coach Jamie Howell said. "They competed hard and we competed all fall without our No. 1 player. She is still dinged up but playing. Ann (Burel) is healthy, Blair (Powers) is healthy and if we get good balance and the top of the lineup performs well, I will be curious to see where we end up."

Burel finished in fifth place at the Southeast District tournament, shooting 79 and 76 for a 155 and has had a good sophomore season, picking up three wins this season including an individual title at the Pfeiffer Spring Invite. In the fall, Burel won at the Seminole State Fall Warm Up as well as the Hooves at the Highlands.

Sophomore Mila Tang missed the fall season but also picked up a win this spring at the Kinderlou Forest Spring Invite and finished sixth overall at the district tournament.

"It is my last tournament at EFSC so I am very excited to play in this tournament," Tang said.  "I think looking back to last year's tournament, I took a lot from that because I did not play my best so excited to play up north again. It is going to be a lot different because it won't be as warm, we just have to adjust but looking forward to it."

Tang and Burel are both playing in the national tournament for the second straight season as Tang finished 12th in the tournament last year while Burel was 32nd, helping the Titans place eighth last year in Kansas.

"Chemistry is really good and they tend to handle adversity pretty well, so I am curious about how they will fare," Howell said. "We were really close at the district tournament. If we were just pedestrian on the greens, we would have been right there and yet if we do what we did there at the national tournament, we will be where we were so we have to change some things."

The team will be one of 15 teams competing at Oakwood Country Club, located in Coal Valley, Illinois.

Defending national champion Odessa College is ranked No. 1 in the national poll with Daytona State College and Seminole State College two and three.

The tournament will be four rounds of 18 holes each day with the final round scheduled for Thursday, May 14.