Miami freshman golfer Sara Byrne was among those who stood and watched as NCAA committee representative Brad Hurlbut stood at LSU’s University Club in Louisiana and announced to players and coaches that the golf course was playable but was not “championship-level playable” because of rain and standing water on the course.
So here it is, the LSU regionals at Baton Rouge has been cancelled due to the course being “PLAYABLE BUT NOT AT A CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL”!!!!! Disgraceful how this whole week has been handled!!!! Every player worked so hard for this week and this is how we are treated!!! SHAMEFUL!!! pic.twitter.com/Z8FGrfYKLN
— Sara Byrne (@sarabyrne01) May 12, 2021
The NCAA women’s golf regional in Baton Rouge was over before it even started. A year after spring sports were put on hold because of a pandemic, another season was cut short for many teams.
“The team was utterly shocked when the announcement was made,” Byrne told alabama.com. “It was just horrible to witness the whole situation especially the seniors whose collegiate golf careers just ended so abruptly. In all my years of playing golf, something like this has never happened. At other tournaments, we find ways to at least get one round played.”
Byrne recorded the events as they played out and the reaction from fellow golfers went viral. In fact, her video has been viewed almost 600,000 times.
“I‘m really surprised at how much coverage this story is getting,” she said. “It’s good to know that this situation is getting the coverage it deserves because stuff like this just shouldn’t happen. I recorded it as I thought it would be a good thing to share so people can see what was happening.”
After two days of play being postponed, the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional was canceled Wednesday because of weather and course conditions. Since a round of golf was unable to be completed, the regional’s top six seeds automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, as well as the top three individuals from non-advancing teams.
The top six – LSU, Ole Miss, Baylor, Oregon, Maryland and Alabama – play May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Houston’s Karen Fredgaard, Miami’s Nataliya Guseva and Sam Houston State’s Hanna Alberto also advance. Those who didn’t get a chance to qualify were: 7. Oregon State, 8. Houston, 9. Miami (Fla.), 10. North Texas, 11. Purdue, 12. Mississippi State, 13. Tulsa, 14. Sam Houston State, 15. Kennesaw State, 16. East Tennessee State, 17. Jacksonville State and 18. Quinnipiac
The following statement was released:
“The NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee regrets that the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships regional in Baton Rouge could not be conducted as scheduled this week. The University Club has taken on over 7 inches of rain in the past several days. The Division I Women’s Golf Committee, NCAA staff and the Games Committee in Baton Rouge have been in constant communication throughout the past several days about the course conditions that have led to this unprecedented and most difficult decision.
“Committee policy states that since play could not take place Wednesday, advancement will be determined by the original seeding of teams used for selection to the 2021 championship, with the top six teams and top three individuals, not on an advancing team, going to the national championships.”
MEN’S BASKETBALL
ST. JOHN’S: The Red Storm gave Big East Conference coach of the year Mike Anderson a six-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season. The university announced the deal on Thursday after Anderson delivered consecutive winning seasons in his first two years. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Red Storm posted a 16-11 record this past season, including a 10-9 mark in the conference after being picked ninth in the preseason coaches poll. It marked the first time St. John’s finished with a league record of .500 or better since 2014-15. St. John’s did not receive an NCAA Tournament bid and removed itself from consideration for a probable bid to the NIT due to COVID-19 precautions.
Anderson, who won his 400th career game this past season, is one of only three active Division I coaches with at least 15 years of experience to have never had a sub-.500 season.
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