GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman women's golf team will take part in the NCAA Athens Regional at University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga., May 8-10, as announced Wednesday by the NCAA Division I Golf Committee.

The Paladins, who are the No. 10 seed in Athens, are part of an 12-team regional field that will battle for a top-five finish and a berth in the 30-team NCAA Championship, which will be held May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.  The Athens Regional field includes four of the top 25 teams in the country led South Carolina, which ranks fourth in the latest GolfStat rankings.  No. 9 San Jose State, 16th-ranked Ole Miss, and No. 23 Ohio State will compete in Athens.

"I am really excited to go to Athens for a couple of reasons," said Furman head coach Jeff Hull.  "Number one, it is close to home, so we don't have to spend a lot of time traveling, and two, I worked there for many years and I know the golf course and the town really well, so this will help us prepare for the event.  This is a very good golf course, and I feel like it suits us because we play similar courses throughout the year." 

Furman, which secured the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by capturing its 20th SoCon Championship last week at Moss Creek's South Course in Hilton Head, S.C., will make its 24th NCAA Regional appearance.  The Paladins appeared in 17-straight regionals from 1993, when the regional format began, until 2010.  

The Furman team finished sixth at the NCAA Stillwater Regional last season in Stillwater, Okla., and senior Anna Morgan tied for fifth to advance as an individual to the NCAA Championship.

The Paladin lineup for the regional will include Morgan, junior Caroline Crumrine, and freshmen Chloe Johnson, Faith Johnson, and Liza Lapeyre.

NCAA Athens Regional

Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.

Teams:

Teams:

1.         South Carolina

2.         San Jose State

3.         Ole Miss

4.         Ohio State

5.         Georgia

6.         Maryland

7.         Kent State (Mid-American Conference)

8.         Charleston (Colonial Athletic Association)

9.         Kansas

10.       Furman (Southern Conference)

11.       Augusta (Southland Conference)

12.       Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)

Individuals:

1.         Carla Bernat, Tulane

2.         Mathilde Delavallade, Penn State

3.         Mikhaela Fortuna, Oklahoma

4.         Catie Craig, Western Kentucky (Conference USA)

5.         Christy Chen, Boston U (Patriot League)

6.         Isabella Gomez, Harvard (The Ivy League)