April 13, 2006

Charlottesville, VA - The 17th-ranked Virginia women's golf team plays in the 18th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Championship April 14-16 in Pinehurst, N.C. The 54-hole tournament will feature 18 holes of competition per day at the par-72, 6,293-yard Pinehurst No. 8 course.

Duke has dominated the championship winning the title every year since 1996. The Blue Devils own a total of 13 ACC titles while Wake Forest has claimed three and North Carolina one.

Last season Virginia tied NC State for third place behind the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons. It was Virginia's second appearance at the tournament. Duke's Brittany Lang took medalist honors at 3-over 219 at the Carmel Country Club in Charlotte.

Leah Wigger led the UVa effort by placing 12th at 17-over 233. Rachel Smith was 17th at 238 and Sally Shonk was 19th at 240. Lauren Mielbrecht placed 20th at 241 while Lindsay Robinson rounded out the Cavalier scoring in 27th place at 244.

Virginia coach Jan Mann's lineup for the ACCs will include Wigger, Jennie Arseneault, Smith, Carly Truitt and Mielbrecht. Wigger, ranked 22nd in the nation in Golfweek's standings, leads the team with a 73.46 stroke average. Arseneault is second at 74.58 and Mielbrecht is third at 75.42.

Virginia will be paired with Florida State and Miami during the first round that gets underway at 8 a.m. Friday.

As the nation's top-ranked team, Duke leads the field in the Golfweek standings. Wake Forest is ranked 10th followed by the Cavaliers. Florida State is ranked 34th, NC State is 38th and North Carolina is 40th. At 49th, Maryland is the only other ACC squad listed in the top-50.

Updating the Cavaliers

Leah Wigger
Junior
Louisville, KY
The runner-up at the 2005 NCAA Championships ... leads the Cavaliers with a 73.46 stroke average ... that is on pace to set a single-season school record for stroke average ... she led UVa during the program's first season (76.80) and also last year (74.12) ... owns the school record with 14 top-10 finishes ... has seven top-10 outings this year ... she will attempt to record her first top-10 showing at the ACCs after placing 11th as a freshman and 12th in 2005 ... has been UVa's top finisher in six of eight tournaments this season ... has been amazingly consistent in her scoring this season ... has shot higher than 75 just three times in 24 rounds this year ... top finish was a second-place showing at the Papa John's Collegiate (Feb. 20-22) when she shot 5-over 221 ... top tournament outing was 1-over 217 to open the season at the Cougar Classic.

Jennie Arseneault
Freshman
Grinnell, IA
First year player who joined the team in January after completing her high school degree requirements early ... has had an immediate impact on UVa's results ... enters the ACCs second in scoring with a 74.58 stroke average ... has played in all four events this spring ... was UVa's No. 2 scorer in three of the four events ... top finish was 11th-place showing at LSU Classic where she shot 4-over 220, her best tournament score of the season ... best single-round scores were 70s she shot at LSU and at Bryan National Collegiate ... has finished in the top-20 of all four tournaments this season.

Rachel Smith
Junior
Powell, TN
Having her best season in terms of scoring average at UVa ... enters the ACCs with a 76.96 scoring average ... has four top-25 finishes this season ... top tournament score came at the Cougar Fall Classic where she shot 8-over 224 and placed 25th ... best single-round came at the Lady Gamecock Classic where she carded a 71 in the second round ... was 17th at the 2005 ACC Championships after shooting 22-over 238 ... tied for 24th at the 2004 ACCs.

Carly Truitt
Freshman
Marysville, OH
One of two first-year players to make the ACC roster for Virginia ... one of four Cavaliers to play in all eight tournaments this season ... posted a 77.04 scoring average ... best finish was a 13th place performance at the Lady Gamecock Classic ... she shot 9-over 225 at that event and was UVa's number-two finisher ... shot 73 twice for her low 18-hole score.

Lauren Mielbrecht
Sophomore
Gulf Stream, FL
Having a solid sophomore season ... improved her stroke average by more than two shots per round from her freshman campaign ... one of three players to play in all eight regular-season tournaments as a scoring player ... notched a top-10 showing in all four fall events ... was UVa's top finisher at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational and the Derby Invitational ... best tourney score was the 2-over 218 she shot at the Cougar Classic to open the season ... enters the ACCs third on the team with a 75.42 stroke average ... shot 70 at the Derby Invitational to equal her best 18-hole score during her career ... finished 20th at last year's ACC Championship with a 25-over 241.