Wildcats Punch Ticket to NCAA Women’s Golf Championship in Dramatic Finish
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Dreams came true for five players who were all competing in their first NCAA Women’s Golf Regionals this week.
The 34th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s golf team produced a final round chock-full of headlines Wednesday, but the best of those: punching a ticket to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.
The Wildcats came into the final round of the NCAA Regional at Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Florida, in seventh place, 10 shots back of the team occupying fifth place (also the cut line). Then, on their very first hole, the Cats recorded two bogeys and a double, and things didn’t look so optimistic.
But from the point on, the young lineup – which included two juniors and three sophomores that had never competed in an NCAA Regionals before – chipped away hole after hole. Even more impressive, it also marked the first time this lineup – this specific group of players – had been used through 12 tournaments in 2025-26.
While players like C.A. Carter and Raleygh Simpson were critical in the team’s Golden Tempo-inspired run, it was Samantha Paradise who set the tone right out of the starting gate Wednesday.
The junior transfer from Daytona State College, who competed in just her second lineup in her Kentucky career, was first off the tee for the team this morning. Through her first six holes, she paired together three birdies and three pars to quickly help the team make up ground. She would later record two more birdies, including a chip-in on the par-3 No. 13, to turn in a crucial 2-over-par 74.
Speaking of chip-ins, just when the team needed it the most, Raleygh Simpson holed out from 143 yards for an eagle on the par-4 No. 18 – her final hole of the day.
The sophomore was already 2-under through 17 holes after sprinkling five birdies across her scorecard that morning. But as she approached the 18th tee box, the team was just one shot out of contention and in need of a birdie to tie or an eagle to take the last spot. Well, fate would have it, as her second shot landed about four feet from the cup and rolled right in sending the patrons into a dramatic roar knowing exactly what she had just done.
Simpson finished with a 4-under, her 18-hole career best, and a 1-over tournament total to tie for 13th place.
And the workhorse behind such a successful day, C.A. Carter.
The sophomore from Lexington, Kentucky, led the team wire-to-wire but shined brightest on the final day.
Despite recording a bogey on her first hole – the par-4 No. 1 – she followed that up with a combined eight birdies and nine pars for a 7-under-par 65. Her score not only doubled her previous 18-hole career best but it also tied a Seminole Legacy Golf Course record.
Her birdies came in dramatic fashion, too, stringing four consecutive birdies together on hole Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 and again on hole Nos. 15, 16, 17 and at last on 18. Her birdie putt on the 18th green, which was just inside 10 feet, gave reason for the large crowd that gathered there to erupt in cheers.
She finished with a 6-under tournament total for an impressive share of third place out of the touted field.
The Wildcats, altogether, turned in at an impressive 9-under in the final round, their 18-hole team best this season. They started the day with a 15-over tournament total and ended the day with a 6-over tournament total, finishing comfortably in fifth place and with a punched ticket to California.
It will mark the program’s seventh NCAA Championship appearance – also 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2021 – and the second for head coach Golda Borst.
Scorecard
T3 C.A. Carter 71, 74, 64 … 210 (-6)
T35 Karlie Campbell 75, 73, 76 … 223 (+7)
T13 Raleygh Simpson 73, 76, 68 … 217 (+1)
T31 Cathryn Brown 73, 77, 72 … 222 (+6)
T45 Samantha Paradise 74, 81, 74 … 229 (+13)
5 Kentucky 291, 300, 279 … 870 (+6)
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
