Marina Alex named NGCA First Team All-American

By A. Boggs

At National Golf Coaches Association banquet, where Marina Alex was named a first team All-American.

Congrats to Marina, who had the best season stroke average in the history of Commodore women's golf. She joins Jacqui Concolino and May Wood as the only first teamers to ever don the black and gold.

Commodores post 18-over par, currently in seventh

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt is in the clubhouse with an 18-over par, 1170 (296-292-291-291) and are currently in seventh position as of 5:48 EST. UCLA is one stroke in front of the Commodores, but the Bruins still have a few holes left to play.

Brooke Goodwin led VU with a one-under par, 71, in her final round as a collegian. The senior from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., was tied for 13th in the last individual update that was available on Golfstat.com, which has been acting up all day and been very inconsistent.

Picture above is of Brooke Goodwin signing her last collegiate scorecard.

Stay tuned for more information on vucommodores.com as they become available.

Commodores are off...

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt is off and running in the final round of the NCAA Championship in Wilmington.

Anna Leigh Keith was the first one to tee off for VU, and her picture is above.

VU is in sixth place heading into today, with the all-time best finish at a national championship within reach. The Commodores finished fifth in the 2004 championship.

We'll have updates throughout the day here at the blog. You can also follow live scoring. Stay tuned.

Video: Greg Allen talks about the 'Dores third round and changing a flat tire

By A. Boggs

Oh, the adventures of the road. Just when you thought you would have a nice relaxing evening after a great Italian meal, you get back to the hotel to find the back left tire of your rental car completely flat. I didn't flip the Commodore pit crew, although I thought long and hard about it, but decided to ask the coach about the incident afterwards, along with his thoughts on Vanderbilt's third round in Wilmington.

We're all pretty pooped after a long day at the course. We're back at it again tomorrow for the final round to try and get some hardware and to set a record. VU's best finish in the NCAA Championship was a fifth place finish at the 2004 championship, and the top four teams receive a trophy from the NCAA. It would be a great finish to a great year.

Until then, good night from Wilmington.

Video: Brooke Goodwin after round three at NCAA Championship

By A. Boggs

We caught Brooke Goodwin in the lobby of the hotel after her round for a quick interview. Check out the video below to see what she had to say.

VU currently at one-under for the day

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt continued to improve its standing in the NCAA Championship with a one-under par round so far on Thursday. The Commodores have moved from 8th to 6th so far today, with the front nine of the Landfall course awaiting them later this afternoon. On Wednesday, Vanderbilt was four-under par as a team on the front nine.

Stay tuned for more and a complete recap as we get closer to finishing the round. Hopefully the Commodores can make this thing even more interesting in their final seven holes or so.

Women's Golf ready for third round

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt's women's golfers are putting the finishing touches on their warm up and getting ready to hit the the Landfall Dye Course for their third round of the NCAA Championship. Lauren Stratton is the first to tee off for VU at 2:40 EST.

The NCAA is currently streaming the tournament live with a video feed - tune in here to watch.

I'll leave all of you for now with a picture of the Atlantic Ocean from Wrightsville Beach. With the late tee time, a few of us headed over there for a shoeless walk on the beach. If you haven't been here, I highly recommend it!

Commodores in eighth after two rounds, will begin third round at 2:40 EST

By A. Boggs

The Commodores have assumed eighth place by themselves after the second round of the NCAA Championship in Wilmington was completed on Thursday morning. Florida State, who was tied with the 'Dores at 12-over par after play was suspended late on Wednesday night, added three more strokes to their total and ended round two at 15-over.

Vanderbilt's first golfer to tee off this afternoon, Lauren Stratton, will tee off this afternoon at 2:40 EST on hole number 10 with players from Virginia and Auburn playing alongside her. Anna Leigh Keith tees off at 2:51, Megan Grehan at 3:02, Brooke Goodwin at 3:13, and Marina Alex has the last tee time of the day at 3:24.

Live streaming of the tournament also begins at 1:30 EST, and you can view that here. It will be a late day for the Commodores, but it seems as if the team is in good spirits and ready to go low.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Commodores making the turn

By A. Boggs

Since the last blog entry, we had another storm delay for about 45 minutes, and have been back on the course for about 20 minutes or so.  There is a line of storms that have been in the area for most of the afternoon, and there may be more stoppages ahead.  As you can see from the picture, even the turtles are trying to avoid the water.

I talked with assistant coach Nicki Cutler during the latest stoppage about what the NCAA will do today and whether we will get all 72 holes in for the tournament.  She informed me that they have built in Saturday as a make up day if they need one, but they will try and do what they can to fit everything in by Friday.

I wasn't a meteorology major, but the weather looks as if it will be okay for the rest of the week once this latest storm moves through.

Marina Alex and Lauren Stratton birdied their ninth hole, the 18th, and two Commodores, Megan Grehan and Anna Leigh Keith, are near or at the turn.  At the moment, Vanderbilt is six-over par for their round, with the easiest nine holes still to play.  VU has been very unlucky with the weather - yesterday morning, conditions were rainy and windy to start (when VU played), while the afternoon was beautiful, and today, the morning was perfect with the afternoon kicking up storms and windy conditions.

Check back later for more when it becomes available.

Back to the action...

By A. Boggs

Storm delay is over and everyone is back in action at Landfall. Commodores are currently playing holes 3 through 7, which are 12 through 16 on the course since VU teed off on the back. Click here to follow live scoring.

Storm delay in Wilmington

By A. Boggs

We have all been shuffled off of the golf course due to impending storms in the area.

We're okay here though...there has been a residential home on each hole designated for a safe area, so that's where Anna Leigh Keith and the rest of the golfers who were putting on 12 green are hanging right now.

Kudos to the NCAA and the Landfall folks for making these arrangements.

Stay tuned to the blog for when we start playing again.

Commodores hit course for second round

By A. Boggs

After a stellar breakfast at the Cracker Barrell, Vanderbilt's womens golf team is on the course for their second round of the NCAA Championship at the Country Club of Landfall. VU has tee time ranging from 12:30 to 1:05 EST off the 10 tee today.

Stay tuned to the blog and vucommodores for breaking developments and live scoring updates.

Commodore golfers add pink to their color scheme this week

By A. Boggs

The Commodores have donned pink ribbons on their bags this week at the NCAA Championship in honor of LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg, who tragically passed away last week in Las Vegas.  Blasberg played for head coach Greg Allen for two years while Allen was the head coach at the University of Arizona.

Attached is a picture of Brooke Goodwin's bag with the ribbon and "Skip" printed on the ribbon.  Allen tells a story that on Blasberg's arrival to Arizona, a trainer asked her to skip around the track to get warmed up for a workout.  She didn't know how to skip, so the moniker was given to her by Allen and her teammates.

The Commodore family passes on their condolences to the Blasberg and University of Arizona women's golf family, who will celebrate her life Wednesday morning in California at a memorial service.

Video: Catching up with Greg Allen and Anna Leigh Keith

By A. Boggs

Vucommodores.com caught up with Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen and top finisher Anna Leigh Keith after the first round of the NCAA Championship in Wilmington, N.C. on Tuesday afternoon. The Commodores shot eight-over par for their round on Tuesday as a team, and Keith fired a one-under par, 71, which tied for her lowest round of the season.

Greg Allen


Anna Leigh Keith

Commodores end first day at eight-over par

By A. Boggs

The Commodores ended the first day of play at the NCAA Championship with an eight-over par, 296, which is currently fifth among teams that have finished their rounds.

VU was led by freshman Anna Leigh Keith, who posted a one-under par, 71. The Moultrie, Ga., native finished with four birdies in her last five holes, and is currently in a tie for sixth in the individual rankings. Her 71 tied a season-best - her previous 71 came in the Bryan National Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C., on April 4, which was also her best finish of the season (T-10).

Megan Grehan ended her round with a two-over par, 74, Marina Alex with a three-over par, 75, Brooke Goodwin with a four-over par, 76, and Lauren Stratton finished with a six-over par, 78.

More to come later, including video interviews with head coach Greg Allen and top finisher Anna Leigh Keith, along with an official recap on vucommodores.com when everyone finishes their round on Tuesday.

Commodores have a great front nine

By A. Boggs

After a slow start, the Commodores have emerged as an early-morning leader at the NCAA Championships in Wilmington. Vanderbilt is in the lead at two-under par as the team's final player, Marina Alex, approaches the turn at the Country Club of Landfall.

After starting the tournament's first two holes at three-over par, the jitters quickly disappeared and Vanderbilt shot to the top of the leaderboard. Senior Brooke Goodwin chipped in from 75 yards out on number six, a par-five, 510-yard monster, for eagle, junior Megan Grehan had three birdies on the front nine, and Alex has two birdies so far through eight. I followed Marina for the first seven holes, and she capped her sixth and seventh holes with birdies after two clutch par saves at four and five.

Freshman Anna Leigh Keith is even through nine, and fellow freshman Lauren Stratton finished her front nine at four-over par.

Stay tuned to the blog for more updates as they happen here in Wilmington. Hopefully the good news continues and the rain stays away. Click to Follow Live Scoring

Underway in Wilmington

By A. Boggs

The Commodores are on the course for their first round at the NCAA Championship at the Country Club of Landfall.

We left the hotel this morning with a steady rain falling on us, but the weather took a turn for the better when Lauren Stratton approached the tee box at 8 a.m. EST. Current conditions here are beautiful...70's with a slight breeze. The Atlantic Ocean is only a few miles away, and you can smell it in the air.

Keep an eye on the blog throughout the day, and follow the live scoring on vucommodores.com to keep up with the action here in Wilmington.

Women's Golf in Wilmington, N.C., for NCAA Championship

By A. Boggs

The women's golf team is in Wilmington and ready to take on the nation's best at the NCAA Championship this Tuesday through Friday at the Country Club of Landfall. Vanderbilt will tee off at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

Here's a photo of the team at dinner on Monday night. Longhorn was the call, and it was a good one. Anna Leigh Keith's parents, Jim and Laura, made the trip up from Moultrie, Ga., and joined us for the meal.

After dinner, the coaches and players attended a rules meeting on the campus of UNC Wilmington, which is a only a few miles away from the hotel.

This tournament is a huge deal here in Wilmington. The word on the street is that there are over 400 volunteers for the tournament, with a waiting list! From all accounts from our coaches and players, the golf course is in excellent condition, and it will play very fair this week. They told me to not expect a lot of low numbers from everyone in the field, but they love their chances this week. A lot of confidence with this group.

Stay tuned to the blog and vucommodores.com for periodic updates from the course throughout the week. Live scoring of the tournament is also available on the website and on golfstatresults.com.

If you would like to read more from the Wilmington Star News Online about the tournament, you can here.