Alabama Women’s Golf Earns No. 1 Seed at NCAA Shoal Creek Regional

The No. 1-ranked University of Alabama women's golf team was awarded the top seed at the 2016 NCAA Shoal Creek Regional at the Shoal Creek Club in Shoal Creek, Ala., the NCAA announced Monday evening.

The NCAA Shoal Creek Regional will be held on May 5-7 on the par-72, 6,470-yard layout. It is the 11th straight invitation to postseason competition for the Crimson Tide, which captured the program's first NCAA Championship in 2012 at the Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.

The top-six finishers at the Shoal Creek Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship at the Eugene Country Club on May 20-25 in Eugene, Ore., and join the teams that will advance from the Stanford (Calif.), Bryan (Texas) and Baton Rouge (La.) Regionals.

“We weren’t surprised where we wound up since we already knew we were hosting,” head coach Mic Potter said. “It’s a balanced field and the course is in fantastic condition. The greens are fast and firm and I think it’s a course that’s going to separate the field the way it should. I think the best teams are going to advance and the best players are going to excel.”

Since Potter's arrival at the Capstone prior to the 2005-06 season, the Crimson Tide has qualified for the NCAA Regionals each season and advanced to the NCAA Championship 10 consecutive years. The 2016 selection is the program’s 18th NCAA appearance.

For Potter, the regional berth marks the 23rd consecutive appearance by a team under his direction. The Hall of Fame coach has now led a team to a regional bid in each season since the format came into existence in 1993. Joining Alabama in the NCAA Shoal Creek Regional is No. 2-seed Northwestern, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 California and No. 5 Iowa State.

The 18-team NCAA Shoal Creek Regional boasts two other Southeastern Conference teams along with the No. 1 Crimson Tide. 6. Florida State; 7. Tennessee; 8. Missouri; 9. Purdue; 10. Notre Dame; 11. Vanderbilt; 12. Clemson; 13. Michigan; 14. Middle Tennessee State; 15. New Mexico State; 16. Eastern Kentucky; 17. Oakland (Mich.); 18. Alabama State.

Alabama finished tied for fourth at the NCAA Raleigh Regional in Raleigh, N.C., last season before posting its sixth straight top-15 finish at the NCAA Championships