PREVIEW: Zalewska Starts NCAA Postseason on Monday

Monday, May 8

Raleigh, N.C.

9:50 AM

Chattanooga

Raleigh Regionals - Round 1

Dorota Zalewska

Photo by: Don Luzynski

5/7/2023 11:25:00 AM | Women's Golf

Dorota Zalewska represents the Chattanooga Mocs this week at the NCAA Raleigh Regionals.

STATS/NOTES | SCORING | PAIRINGS | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA GOLF

CHATTANOOGA---It's that time of year. The Chattanooga Mocs are once again in the NCAA Women's Golf Championships with senior Dorota Zalewska looking to top her first postseason foray from a year ago.

Zalewska has an individual berth in the NCAA Raleigh Regionals. She is one of 66 in the field looking to claim one of 26 spots in the finals later this month. The group tackles Lonnie Poole Golf Club at N.C. State.

There is a catch. She has her eye on the one coveted individual spot advancing from Raleigh. The other 25 are reserved for the five advancing teams.

She also earned a bid last season as Southern Conference Champion. This year she's the top seed among the six individuals placed into the Raleigh field by the NCAA selection committee. The postseason berth isn't the only special moment for native of Poland. Friday was graduation day with the chance to walk prior to traveling to Raleigh for Sunday's practice round.

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It's the 11th time in the 16 seasons since Coach Colette Murray re-started the program from scratch that the Mocs are on center stage. Six of those came as a team from 2009-14 advancing to the finals in 2009, just the second year of Murray's project.

The other have been six individual bids with the first coming for Hall of Famer Emma de Groot '11 in that inaugural campaign. Emily McLennan (2016), Monica San Juan (2019), Esme Hamilton (2022) and Zalewska's duet.

The 54-hole event is played with 18 holes per day starting Monday and ending Wednesday afternoon. Links to tournament central page, pairings and live scoring, when available, are above along with a comprehensive notes package.

NCAA Raleigh Regionals
May 8-10 (Mon-Wed) | 54 holes (18 per day)

Lineup
Dorota Zalewska (72.93)

Course
Lonnie Poole Golf Club | Par 72 | 6,324 yards

Field (by seed)
Wake Forest, Arizona State, Florida State, Florida, Arizona, North Texas, TCU, N.C. State, Purdue, Nebraska, Campbell, Richmond

Individuals
Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga; Kendall Turner, James Madison; Mallory Fobes, UNC Wilmington; Morgan Ketchum, Virginia Tech; Becca DiNunzio, Virginia Tech; Sarah Kahn, High Point

3 Notes to Know

Zalewska's 3-over 219 last year at Vanderbilt Legends Club's North Course is the low 54-hole score by a Moc in NCAA postseason play.
The closest a Moc has come to advancing to the finals as an individual was in the team's 2011 entry at Notre Dame. Maria Juliana Loza tied for eighth with a 7-over 223. She birdied four of the last six holes in an effort to push the team into the top eight that fell short. She was topped in a 1-hole playoff for an individual berth.
Lonnie Poole Golf Club was the October site of the men's golf team trophy sweep at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate. It was the men's first win of the year and first career triumph for Paul Conroy who tied the school record with a final round 62 (-10).

What Dori is Saying
On 2nd NCAA selection:
"I'm very happy to be at regionals for a second time in a row. It was a small goal of mine. For sure, playing last year gave me a better feel of where my golf needs to be in order to reach the finals. It was close a year ago, but I think it was just not my time. I have worked hard the past 12 days for everything to go well, but we will see Wednesday (smiling)."

On juggling graduation & golf travel:
"It's been busy, but I found a way to focus on golf and enjoy my two hours of celebration at graduation. It was amazing. I felt so honored to be there and have people with me who helped me throughout my college career. So, thank you everyone…we did it!"

On possible notes from the guys about Lonnie Poole Golf Course:
"I talked with the guys a bit about the course, but there is not a lot they can tell me beyond type of grass, size of greens, amount of water and trees. It's a different course because our yardages are different and not likely to match for approach shots, carries, etc."

History
All-Time Entries: 11
Team: 6 (Advanced in 2009)
Individual: 5
Last: 2022 – Dorota Zalewska (Franklin) & Esme Hamilton (Albuquerque)

Individual Appearances
2008: Emma de Groot, Athens, Ga., T17, 73-76-74=223 (+7)
2016: Emily McLennan, Birmingham, Ala., T29, 77-75-79=231 (+15)
2019: Monica San Juan, Auburn, Ala., T73, 77-78-75=230 (+15)
2022: Dorota Zalewska, Franklin, Tenn., T21, 76-70-73=219 (+3)
2022: Esme Hamilton, Albuquerque, N.M., T51, 76-78-75=229 (+13)

Top Finishes
T8, Maria Juliana Loza, 2011 Central Regionals (Notre Dame), 73-78-72-223 (+7)
T17, Emma de Groot, 2008 East Regionals (Georgia), 73-76-74=223 (+7)
T18, Christine Wolf, 2011 Central Regionals (Notre Dame), 75-76-74=225 (+9)
T19, Maria Juliana Loza, 2012 East Regionals (Penn State), 73-72-76=221 (+5)
T21, Dorota Zalewska, 2022 Franklin Regionals, 76-70-73=219 (+3)

Live Scoring
Golfstat

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Next Event

Raleigh Regionals - Round 1

May 8 (Mon)

9:50 AM

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