(Tempe) - USF women's golf competes in the opening round of the 2003 NCAA West Regional Thursday, May 7 at Karsten Golf Course, hosted by Arizona State. The Lady Dons, ranked #11 in the 21 team field, are making their third consecutive regional appearance under the direction of head coach Sara Range and are pursuing the first National's berth in program history. The top eight teams advance to the 2003 NCAA Championships to be held May 20-23 on the Kampen Course of the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind..

San Francisco fields an experienced squad comprised of seniors Lisa Chen, Lyndsey Devenish and Susie Laing, junior Jordan Auten and sophomore Mariko Shimozaki. The five boast a total of eight NCAA Tournament appearances and Chen, Laing and Auten are competing in their third consecutive postseason event, while Devinish and Shimozaki are making their second showing. In addition, Devenish was the 2000 NCAA Division II runner-up while at Rollins College.

Last season at the 2002 NCAA West Regional at Stanford Golf Course, USF shot a 914 (315, 304, 295), placing ninth, six strokes shy of reaching nationals. Head coach Sara Range believes her team is ready for the rigors of Karsten Golf Course.

"We had a good practice round today. Everyone is striking the ball well. We have the opportunity to play very well on a challenging golf course in an elite field. We look forward to competing and we are ready to take this program to the next level," Range said.

USF tees off Thursday at 7:30 AM. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstatlive.com and complete recaps and results will be available on the official website of Lady Dons Golf - www.usfdons.com.