Wilmington will once again play host to the women of college golf with the 29th annual NCAA Women’s Golf Championships next year. In 2010, 175 players and coaches from 24 teams from around the country will travel to Wilmington on May 18 to compete.

Joe Browning, senior associate athletic director with University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) is hesitant to estimate the number of expected attendees, but said that they would love to have between 3,000 and 5,000 guests in the area.

UNCW is hosting this event, utilizing the Pete Dye golf course at the Country Club of Landfall for the championship.

“I think one of the unique things about [Landfall] is that we have 300 to 400 volunteers,” Browning said, adding that a championship of this size is a massive undertaking and they will need a big volunteer base.

Kelly Mehrtens, UNCW’s athletic director said “This is a very exciting news for everyone. It will be a wonderful opportunity for us to not only showcase UNCW, but the Country Club of Landfall and our beautiful community as well.”

Area attractions will be highlighted during the players’ visit. Rob Brickels, assistant athletic director of marketing and development at UNCW said they have already begun planning to events, one with the Battleship North Carolina and the second with EUE Screen Gems Studios.

The first NCAA championship played in Wilmington was held in 1994, when Arizona State won over San Jose State on the Pete Dye course.

“The championship was highly successful in the early 90s because of the unique partnership of UNCW, the members of the Country Club of Landfall and the Wilmington community,” Mehrtens said. “It will take that kind of team effort once again to make this another tournament to remember.”

Three other sites will play host to the tournament games leading up to the finals, including Otter Creek Golf Club in Columbus, Ind., Ironwood Country Club in Greenville and Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.