ATHENS, Ga. – A historic four-year career and run continues for senior Laura Fuenfstueck (Langen, Germany) as she became the first College of Charleston women's golfer in program history to advance to nationals.
 
The three-time Colonial Athletic Association Women's Golfer of the Year carded a final-round, even-par 72 to finish at 3-under par at the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Athens Regional. She placed fourth overall in the 96-player field with a 54-hole total of 213 – seven strokes back of regional individual champion and No. 8-ranked Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest (-10).
 
Kupcho and Fuenfstueck were among the Top 3 individuals (not on the Top 6 teams) in the Athens Regional field to move on to nationals next to Maya Walton of Princeton (-2). The 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Golf National Championship will be hosted by Northern Illinois University on May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms located just outside of Chicago in Sugar Grove, Ill.
 
Additionally, Fuenfstueck became only the second-ever women's golfer in CAA history to qualify for nationals behind Joanna Klatten, who played her first three years at Georgia State and later transferred to The College for her final season in 2006-07. Currently the only former Cougar golfer on the LPGA Tour, Klatten advanced to nationals after finishing in a tie for fifth back in 2006 with the Panthers.
 
"Congrats to Laura," CofC Head Coach Jamie Futrell said. "She made history today. Her performance truly validates her as the best women's golfer in the history of our program. She was rock solid all week and deserved an opportunity to go to the national championships. I'm happy to have one more (college) tournament with her."
 
Fuenfstueck rebounded from bogeying the par-4 2nd with a birdie on the par-3 3rd to finish out the toughest stretch of the UGA Golf Course at even par. She played No. 4 through No. 7 tentatively. On the 7th, after she hit her four-foot birdie putt three feet and 15 inches, Futrell chatted with his star pupil on the green.
 
Fuenfstueck would later birdie the 8th and 9th to finish the front nine at 1-under. Just like Tuesday's second round, she played the back nine well and was 2-under on the day heading into the 16th.
 
With no bailouts on the par-3 16th, Fuenfstueck and Futrell stood on 16 with five shots clear of making it to nationals. And in dramatic fashion, she would dump it into the water for a double bogey. However, Fuenfstueck kept her composure and finished with a strong par-par finish to secure the trip to nationals.
 
"I'm super excited," said Fuenfstueck, who is the school-record holder in career tournament wins (5) and single-season stroke average (72.47). "I played really well all three days, especially with my ball striking. It was very solid. I'm just happy to get a chance to play against the best at nationals."
 
No. 3-ranked Alabama shot 7-under par for the tournament and was crowned regional team champions, while No. 11 Northwestern (+7), Michigan State (+8), No. 19 Baylor (+13), No. 39 Clemson (+20) and No. 35 North Carolina (+22) also advanced to nationals.
 
Shot of The Day: Fuenfstueck's 7-iron, after a small chat with Futrell, left her six feet for birdie. It was only the second birdie of the day at that particular hole. And, for the second-straight day, hole No. 8 spurred on a great round for Fuenfstueck.
 
Mid-Round Notes: At one point of the tournament in the final round, Fuenfstueck trailed the leader, Jennifer Kupcho, by two strokes at 6-under.
 
Among The Nation's Best: Fuenfstueck, ranked No. 90 in the nation, was one of four golfers of the 24 selected to NCAA Regionals to compete as individuals to advance to nationals out of the four regional sites – Athens, Ga. (host Georgia), Columbus, Ohio (host Ohio State), Lubbock, Texas (host Texas Tech) and Albuquerque, N.M. (host New Mexico). The other individuals were Camila Serrano of Florida international, Martina Edberg of Cal State Fullerton and Bianca Pagdanganan of Gonzaga.