HIGH POINT, N.C. —  The High Point University women's golf team is headed to the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship as the No. 9 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, which was announced live on the Golf Channel on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the first time the team, and not just an individual, has qualified for the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big South Conference for the first time in program history a week ago. The Panthers enter their first NCAA Regional as a team ranked the highest they have ever been at No. 60.

Head Coach Lyndsey Hunnell: "I am super excited. I have a couple of Carolina girls and others from surrounding states that have played that course, so it's kind of a nice return. We are used to Carolina golf, so that's where I guessed we would be, but I saw some predictions of other places. I am happy with where we ended up. The fact that we are the No. 9 seed is really impressive. I'm really proud of the team, and we are going to give everybody a run for their money."

Regional play will take place May 11-13 at six regional sites, with 396 participants and each site featuring 12 teams and six individuals. The Panthers' destination at the Chapel Hill Regional will be hosted by North Carolina and played at the UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Texas
2. North Carolina
3. Mississippi State
4. Oklahoma State
5. Kent State
6. Virginia
7. Michigan State
8. NC State
9. High Point
10. Furman
11. Richmond
12. Howard

Individuals (seeded in the following order):
1. Pinky Chaisilprungruang, Charlotte
2. Thanana Kotchasanmanee, Princeton
3. Victoria Levy, UNCW
4. Zoe Duval, Appalachian State
5. Caroline Patterson, UNC Asheville
6. Norah Seidl, Montana State

The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance to compete in the national championships to be played May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. Championship play will be hosted by Texas, with the final three days of the championships televised live by the GOLF Channel.