NORFOLK, Va. – Senior Jana Melichova of the Old Dominion women's golf team has received an at-large bid to the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional, the NCAA announced this afternoon. The top-seeded individual in the field, Melichova will compete at the University of Michigan Golf Course May 9-11.
"Jana has had a great career at ODU, arguably the best ever," head coach Mallory Kane said. "She has rewritten the record books and set a new standard of excellence for our program. It would only be fitting for her to make the NCAA Tournament and then advance to the finals. She certainly has the game for it. She graduates Saturday morning from the Strome College of Business, and then we will head straight to the airport to fly to Ann Arbor."
Ranked 75th in the nation by Golfstat, Melichova leads the Monarchs with a 72.20 stroke average this season. She has eight top-10 finishes this year, including five top-fives and a pair of runner-up finishes. Melichova has played 16 of her 30 rounds at even par or better and has seven rounds in the 60s. The native of Pikovice, Czech Republic broke her own 18-hole gross scoring record in October with a final-round 65 at the Evie Odom Invitational.
Melichova is coming off a T3rd finish at the Conference USA Championship – her third top-10 at the C-USA Championship in as many tries. By virtue of placing in the top-five, she also received all-tournament team honors for the second straight year.
Melichova's selection means the Monarchs will be represented in the NCAAs for the fourth time in as many tournaments. Leah Onosato received an at-large bid last season, and ODU received team bids in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 edition of the NCAA Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Melichova was a member of the team that competed at the 2019 Cle Elum Regional. She shot 10-over 226 to finish tied for 57th.
NCAA Regionals are played out across six sites with each regional hosting 12 teams and six individuals. The top four teams and top two individuals not on an advancing team qualify for the championship, which runs May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"U-M Golf Course is a very challenging Big 10 golf course that will remind Jana of courses back home," Kane said. "She will be very comfortable on this course and be able to draw on many experiences of playing well in that part of the country."
Ann Arbor Regional Field
Teams
1. San Jose State
2. Virginia
3. Michigan
4. Arkansas
5. UCF
6. Virginia Tech
7. North Carolina
8. Washington
9. Ohio State
10. Pepperdine
11. Xavier
12. Oakland
Individuals
1. Jana Melichova, ODU
2. Aine Donegan, Indiana
3. Chloe Schiavone, Notre Dame
4. Ragnhildur Kristinsdottir, Eastern Kentucky
5. Jasmine Ly, Northern Illinois
6. Katherine Lemke, Creighton
Melichova Receives At-Large Bid to Ann Arbor Regional
