FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Daniela Ortiz (So., Morelia, Mexico), a member of the Nova Southeastern women’s golf team, has qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur will begin Aug. 6 and run through Aug. 12 at The Country Club in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
Ortiz was among a record 1,123 entries that the USGA received for this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur. She earned the right to compete in Cleveland, Ohio after finishing her sectional qualifier at the Glendora Country Club in Glendora, Calif. with a score of 75. In a field that featured more than 100 golfers, Ortiz was one of 16 to advance to the Championship tournament from the Glendora regional.
 
A total of 156 players, 120 sectional qualifiers and 36 exempt players, will begin competition with two rounds of stroke play Aug. 6-7. The top 64 players from the first two days will advance to match play competition that will conclude with a 36-hole championship round between the final two players, Sunday, Aug. 12. Beginning Aug. 8, the Golf Channel will have coverage of the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amatuer from 3 – 5 p.m. each day until the conclusion on play on Aug. 12.
 
The U.S. Women’s Amateur is one of the United States Golf Association’s original three championships. It was first conducted in 1895, shortly after the inaugural U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. The Women’s Amateur has since been conducted every year except 1917-18, when it was temporarily suspended because of World War I, and 1942-45, when it was suspended because of World War II.
 
The 156 competitors will be competing for a chance to claim the Cox Trophy as the champion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur. The Cox Trophy was presented in 1896 by Robert Cox, of Gorgie, Edinburgh, Scotland, a member of Britain’s Parliament. It is the only USGA trophy donated by a person from another country and is the oldest survivor among trophies for USGA championships.
 
Ortiz recently completed a successful freshman campaign for NSU, with the Sharks capturing their fourth-straight NCAA Division II National Championship. Ortiz placed third at the NCAA Championship and was a NGCA First-Team All-America selection. She was honored by the Sunshine State Conference as the Freshman of the Year after her runner-up performance at the SSC Championship.