The Sandspur

Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: Sports

Forget the fact that Central Florida is teeming with players from the LPGA and PGA Tours. For the next two weeks, Orlando stands at center stage on the national college golf scene.

Starting with the women's NCAA Division I East Regional, which begins Thursday at the
Mission Inn in Howey-in-the-Hills, the colleges will all but own the town.

Next week, the Division II men's and women's national championships will be held at
Victoria Hills in DeLand and The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes, respectively. Both are co-hosted by Rollins College.

The Division I East Regional, a 72-hole event that ends Saturday, marks the eighth consecutive year that the Mission Inn has hosted a postseason college event.

The course hosted the Division I women's finals three years ago. Stetson is co-hosting.

"Our region has a solid record of success," said John Saboor, director of the Central Florida Sports Commission, which is hosting the three events. "This streak is truly unprecedented and we take it very seriously."

The Division I event features No. 1 Duke and national honors candidate Virada Nirapathpongporn, who won the Nancy Lopez Award last week, which is presented annually to the top female amateur player in the country.

Duke's roster includes three of the top five players in Golfweek magazine's individual national rankings.

Florida, Auburn, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, UNLV, North Carolina, Tulane, LSU, Tennessee, Furman, South Carolina, Florida State, Mississippi, UNCWilmington, Alabama, Miami, NC State, Campbell, St. Francis
and Southern University also are in the regional field. All-SEC pick Aimee Cho of UF, is ranked No. 9 individually by Golfweek.

No. 32 FSU gets a lift from the return of Windermere native Carrie Sordel, a senior who was academically ineligible during the
spring semester. She will return to the lineup this week.

The Division II men's and women's finals, which run next Wednesday through Saturday,
each will feature eight teams.

No. 1 Rollins College, the defending national women's champion and a heavy favorite to repeat, is competing today in the
final round of the South Regional near Pensacola and must finish first or second to advance.

As for down the road, Saboor's group has entered a bid to host the 2007 Division I women's finals, which would be held at LPGA International in Daytona Beach. The Mission Inn also will host the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship, a major event featuring the top teams in golf, on Nov. 14-16.

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