College Notebook: Florida and FSU women to battle

The holiday weekend didn't translate into time off for college golfers.

Not with NCAA Regionals looming around the corner.

Several conference championships featuring players with Manatee County connections took place.

Then on Monday, the NCAA revealed the 72-teams and 18 individual participants at three regional sites for Division I women's golf.

All three regional tournaments take place May 5-7, with eight teams and two individuals advancing from each venue to the NCAA Championship slated for May 18-21 in Bryan, Texas.

So here's a quick peak at some players with area ties that are heading to regionals:

Starting with the East Regional at LPGA International in Daytona Beach (Stetson are the hosts), the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles will take their rivalry to the links against some top-notch competition.

The East features last year's national champion, Purdue, and perennial title contender, Arizona State.

Florida is littered with former IMG Academy standouts.

Five of the seven players on the program's roster honed their game in Bradenton before heading north to Gainesville.

Sophomores Isabelle Lendl and Mia Piccio along with junior Andrea Watts led UF to a ninth place showing at the SEC Championships.

All three trained at IMG. Joining UF at the East Regional is SEC champion Auburn and Big Ten champ Michigan State.

FSU, which claimed second in the ACC Championship, doesn't have any former area players on its club.

Speaking of the ACC Championship, Miami's Maria Ronderos made it as an individual.

According to a news release from the Hurricanes Athletic Department, Ronderos is the first player since 2003 to make the regional tournament as an individual.

The former Manatee High star is in her senior season at Miami, where she posted a final round 74 to tie for 21st at the ACC Championship and cement a regional berth.

Tiger Woods' niece, Cheyenne, crushed the competition with a seven-shot victory.

She shot 5-under par for Wake Forest in the 54-hole tournament.

Also joining Ronderos as an individual is USF's Shena Yang. It's the sophomore's second straight berth as an individual.

Check the blog later in the week for local players in the other women's regionals.