By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations

CLE ELUM, Wash.—The sixth-ranked Arizona State women’s golf team begins its quest for its 23rd consecutive NCAA Championship appearance when it competes as the No. 2 seed at the NCAA West Regional, May 8-10.  The Regional Championships will be held at the par-72, 6,252-yard Tumble Creek Club at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Wash. 

The Sun Devils join Southern California, Oklahoma, Washington, and Clemson as the top five seeds in the West Region.  The top eight teams in the region and the top two individuals from non-advancing teams will move on to the 2014 NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla., co-hosted by Tulsa and the Tulsa Sports Commission, May 20-23.

Arizona State has recorded eight top-five finishes in 10 tournaments this season.  These include second place finishes in the Mason Rudolph Championship and the Betsy Rawls Invitational in the fall, and a tie for second in the PING/ASU Invitational this spring.  Junior Noemi Jimenez, currently ranked fourth in the nation by Golfstat, has recorded top-five finishes in all five of the tournaments in which she has competed this spring season, and has nine top-10 finishes for the season overall.

Rounding out the Sun Devil lineup is freshman Monica Vaughn, junior Emilie Alonso, and seniors Justine Lee and Laura Blanco.  Vaughn is fresh off a fifth place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, where she shot a 1-over 217 and recorded her second top-10 finish of the spring season.     

The Sun Devils hold the record for the most consecutive NCAA Championship appearances with 22 straight.  Arizona State also leads the nation in NCAA Championships with seven and NCAA individual titles with five.      

Live scoring for the NCAA West Regional is available at www.golfstat.com.