Backyard bragging rights will be on the line as the Road to Grayhawk begins this week with the playing of several women's conference championships throughout the country.
Here are six that we'll be keeping a close eye on.
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Atlantic Coast Conference Championships
April 13-16
Sedgefield Country Club
Greensboro, N.C.
With a power-packed lineup that features Rachel Kuehn, Emilia Migliaccio and Carolina Charcarra, top-ranked Wake Forest is the team to beat in Greensboro. The Demon Deacons have won six times this season and have finished lower than second just once. Led by the British contingent of Charlotte Heath, Lottie Woad and Amelia Williamson, 11th-ranked Florida State is the second-best team in the conference. An individual champion will be crowned after 54-holes of stroke play, which will also be used to determine which four teams advance to match play to decide the championship.
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Southeastern Conference Championships
April 13-15
Greystone Golf Club
Birmingham, Ala.
With five teams and six individuals ranked inside the top-10 in the nation, the SEC Championships will be a catfight. Third-ranked South Carolina, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 7 Mississippi State and No. 9 Auburn all have title aspirations beyond Greystone. With the likes of Ingrid Lindblad (LSU), Latanna Stone (LSU), Julia Lopez Ramirez (Mississippi State), Jenny Bae (Georgia), Hannah Darling (South Carolina), Andrea Lingnell (Ole Miss) and Jensen Castle (Kentucky), the SEC has no shortage of star power.
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Big Ten Conference Championships
April 21-23
Fox Chapel Country Club
Pittsburgh, PA
Northwestern has been one of the hottest teams in the country as of late, bagging wins at the PING/ASU Invitational Championship and the Silverado Showdown in consecutive weeks. Behind medalist Jenny Sims, the Wildcats blitzed a field that featured seven of the top-15 teams in the nation in Phoenix, where they finished the 54-hole event at 18-under par, 14 strokes ahead of host Arizona State (-4). No. 12 Baylor (+3), No. 7 Mississippi State (+4) and No. 8 Texas (+6). Ohio State, led by All-American Caley McGinty, and Michigan, featuring U.S. Women's Amateur runner-up Monet Chun, figure to be Wildcats biggest challengers.
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Big 12 Conference Championships
April 21-23
Dallas Athletic Club
Dallas, Texas
Coming off a win at the Big 12 Match Play in Scottsdale, No. 8 Texas seems to be the team to beat in Dallas, but the Longhorns will be tested by the likes of No. 13 Baylor, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 23 Oklahoma State. Iowa State set the lowest 54-hole team score in NCAA history after firing a combined 60-under to win the MountainView Collegiate in March. Kansas advanced to the final of the Big 12 Match Play before falling to Texas and TCU features one of the top players in the country in sophomore Caitlyn Macnab from Johannesburg, South Africa, who finished tied for ninth at the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
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Pac-12 Conference Championships
April 17-19
Papago Golf Course
Phoenix, AZ
Recently-crowned ANWA champion Rose Zhang, the top-ranked female amateur in the world, has led the Cardinal to five victories on the year, second only to Wake Forest's six. However, Stanford's depth has been put to the test as it has played without mainstays Rachel Heck and Brooke Seay for much of the spring. Although she wasn't in the lineup for this week's Silicon Valley Classic, Seay's return seems imminent. Stanford's still the team to beat, but No. 6 Oregon might not be ready to surrender its conference crown just yet and No. 10 Arizona State will have home course advantage at Papago Golf Course.
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Mountain West Conference Championships
April 18-20
Mission Hills Country Club
Rancho Mirage, Calif.
San Jose State, ranked 12th in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll, is the prohibitive favorite at Mission Hills Country Club. With seven wins over the last two seasons, the Spartans have been one of the most consistent teams in the country. Natasha Andrea Oon may be gone, however, with the likes of Antonia Malate, Kajsa Arwefjäll, Lucia Lopez Ortega and Louisa Carlbom, the Spartans are still dangerous beyond Rancho Mirage.
ABOUT THE NCAA Division I Women's Championship
30 teams and 6 individuals not on a qualifying
team make up the field for the championship of
NCAA
Division I women's golf.
After 72 holes of stroke play, the individual
champion is crowned, and the low 8 teams advance
to
match play to determine the team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information