These Coastal Carolina athletic teams have qualified for national NCAA tournaments
The Coastal Carolina women’s golf team and men’s soccer team have won Sun Belt Conference titles and will be participating in NCAA tournaments this spring.
The men’s soccer team won its conference championship and automatic NCAA berth in the fall, but the NCAA playoffs were postponed until the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chants (9-4-2), ranked 25th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, learned Monday they have a bye into the second round and will face No. 5 overall national seed Wake Forest at 5 p.m. May 2 at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The women’s golf team qualified for an NCAA regional on Tuesday by winning the Sun Belt championship, setting school records along the way.
The team will learn its assigned NCAA regional site during a selection show next Wednesday live on Golf Channel.
Women’s golf victorious
The CCU women were awarded the title over runner-up Texas State when Tuesday’s scheduled final round at the LPGA International Hills Course in Daytona Beach, Florida was canceled due to inclement weather after a few holes and a long delay.
CCU took an eight-shot lead through Monday’s second round after posting a 10-under 278, which is the second-lowest team round in program history and the Chants’ lowest round in a conference championship.
Their 14-under 562 score over the first two rounds is the best 36-hole score in program history both in aggregate and in relation to par.
“We would have preferred the 54 holes to get out there and do it, but we’ll take it,” CCU coach Katie Quinney said. “The girls put the work in [Monday] and got the job done.”
Coastal golfers claimed the first two individual spots, with sophomore Sophia Carlsen of Denmark taking medalist honors with a 7-under 137 that included a 4-under 68 in the second round, and freshman Nicole Abelar of the Philippines finishing second with a 5-under 139 that included a championship-low 66 Monday.
Junior Tiffany Arafi of Switzerland shot a second-round 73 and tied for sixth at 2-under 142, and senior Frantiska Lunackova of the Czech Republic shot a 71 Monday and finished ninth at 144.
Junior Caitlin Evans-Brand of England tied for 51st at 150.
CCU shot 7 under on the back nine in the second round despite dealing with wind and intermittent rain.
“It was one of the best top-to-bottom performances, to have three rounds under par under terrible conditions all day,” Quinney said. “. . . It rained off and on all day and conditions changed like every 30 minutes so it was a battle. They just looked so tough.”
The CCU women have now won five conference titles since 2009 and recaptured the Sun Belt crown for the first time since 2018. South Alabama won the conference tournament in 2019 and the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Quinney said. “It felt like a long three years to get the trophy back where it belongs but they worked so hard and went through so much this past year. They had to deal with a lot of adversity so I’m really proud of them.”
Men’s soccer learns opponent
A model of consistency, the CCU men’s soccer team is participating in the NCAA tournament for the 10th time since 2010 and 17th overall.
It’s the first time the Chants have received a bye into the second round of the tournament.
“We have played for a full year where most of the teams haven’t and I think we’ve got a lot of respect,” CCU coach Shaun Docking said. “We’ve been ranked in the top 25 all year long, as high as No. 12. So I just think we’ve got a lot of respect and I think we’ve earned a bye.”
Wake Forest (11-2-2) has the country’s longest streak in the top 25 of the USC poll at 84 consecutive weeks while also remaining in the top 10 for the past 64 polls.
The teams have previously met in the NCAA Championship. CCU defeated the Demon Deacons 2-1 in overtime in a 2012 second-round match, and Wake Forest won a second-round match 2-0 in 2016. Both of those matches were played at Spry Stadium.
Wake Forest holds a 5-2 overall lead in the series. The victor will play the winner of Kentucky and New Hampshire.
The Chants have lost their last two games against College of Charleston and Liberty.
“I think the guys are now excited to actually play in the NCAA tournament after waiting for five months to find out who we’re going to play,” Docking said. “So this day has been five months in the waiting. For us sitting around for five months training and playing and trying to recreate games that mean something has been challenging.”
More NCAA opportunities
Some other CCU programs are attempting to reach NCAA tournaments this spring with conference titles.
The CCU men’s tennis team completed its regular season with a 6-1 win at The Citadel on Friday and enters the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday in Peachtree, Georgia, at 8-8 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
The women’s beach volleyball team is 22-6 and the fourth seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Beach Volleyball Championship that begins Friday at Stetson University’s courts in DeLand, Florida. CCU will face No. 5 Mercer at 8 a.m. Friday in the opening round, with top-seeded Stetson awaiting in Saturday’s second round.
The CCU men’s golf team will compete in the 72-hole Sun Belt Conference Men’s Golf Championship from Sunday through Wednesday at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
CCU’s track and field, baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse teams have conference tournaments or meets scheduled in May.
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
