Columbus, Ohio - The 27th-ranked Virginia women's golf team earned a berth into the 2012 NCAA Championships by finishing fifth at the NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio. The top eight teams from the 24-team field advance to the national tournament May 22-25 in Franklin, Tenn., at Vanderbilt University's Legends Club.

This will mark the fifth consecutive season the Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Championships. UVa is one of six teams to make a fifth straight appearance at the NCAAs. The other schools are: Alabama, Arizona State, Purdue, UCLA and USC.

Virginia shot 13-over 301 during Saturday's final round to finish the 54-hole tournament at 905. USC led the field at 874 followed by Vanderbilt at 899. Purdue was third at 902 and Tennessee placed fourth at 904. Also qualifying from the region were Ohio State (908), NC State (911) and Arkansas (913).

Virginia was led by the fourth-place finish of junior Brittany Altomare. She shot 1-under 71 during the final round for a three-day total of 2-over 218. Lisa McCloskey of USC and Maria Salinas of Florida State tied for medalist honors at 3-under 213.

Freshman Briana Mao was UVa's number-two finisher, placing 18th at 10-over 226 including a 74 during the final round. Elizabeth Brightwell was 26th in her first NCAA Regional. She finished at 228 and shot 76 Saturday. Lauren Greenlief was 50th at 234 and Portland Rosen placed 101st at 244.

"The young women on this team did a great job of preparing and practicing for this tournament and it paid off with a solid performance this week," said Virginia coach Kim Lewellen. "I'm very proud of what they accomplished this week. They played good golf and did what they needed to do to advance. I'm confident they will play well at the NCAAs."

Virginia opened the season by tying for third place at The Fall Preview, held at the site of this year's NCAA Championships. The 18-team field featured the top 13 ranked teams in the nation and all 18 teams were rankeded in the top 25 at the time. Altomare finished third at the event.

The other 16 teams rounding out the field for this year's NCAA Championship come from the East and West Regionals:

East Regional: 1. South Carolina (873), 2. Texas A&M (878), 2. Texas (878), 4. Alabama (879), 4. Florida (879), 6. Arizona State (887), 6. Michigan State (887) and 6. Duke (887).
West Regional: 1. UCLA (873), 1. LSU (873), 3. Pepperdine (875), 4. Colorado (877), 5. Baylor (879), 5. Stanford (879), 7. North Carolina (880) and 8. Oklahoma (890).

NCAA Central Regional
Ohio State Scarlet Course
Columbus, Ohio
Par-72, 6,264 yards
Final Results

Team Results
 1. USC            298-290-286-874
 2. Vanderbilt     308-292-299-899
 3. Purdue         301-307-294-902
 4. Tennessee      306-308-290-904
 5. Virginia       308-296-301-905
 6. Ohio State     310-302-296-908
 7. NC State       307-304-300-911
 8. Arkansas       310-308-295-913
 9. Oregon         308-300-306-914
10. Florida State  314-301-304-919
11. Georgia        299-318-302-919
12. Auburn         306-304-312-922
13. Mississippi    315-311-304-930
14. Texas State    320-315-300-935
15. Notre Dame     304-320-312-936
16. Michigan       315-316-306-937
17. Kentucky       322-313-304-939
18. Harvard        315-317-311-943
19. South Florida  309-325-320-954
20. UTSA           317-326-319-962
21. East Carolina  329-310-328-967
22. UNC Wilmington 323-322-324-969
23. Butler         321-334-315-970
24. Siena          328-326-327-981

Individual Leaders
1. Lisa McCloskey, USC          73-68-72-213
1. Maria Salinas, Florida State 71-72-70-213
3. Marina Alex, Vanderbilt      70-73-72-215
4. Brittany Altomare, Virginia  75-72-71-218
4. Sophia Popov, USC            78-68-72-218
4. Emily Tubert, Arkansas       75-75-68-218
7. Rachel Rohanna, Ohio State   74-74-72-220

Virginia Results
  4. Brittany Altomare    75-72-71-218
 18. Briana Mao           78-74-74-226
 26. Elizabeth Brightwell 78-74-76-228
 50. Lauren Greenlief     77-77-80-234
101. Portland Rosen       84-76-84-244