The Kentucky women?s golf team will compete in the Southeastern Conference Championships April 16-18 at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La. The Cats finished eighth at the tournament last year, led by departing senior Rachel Lester, who tied for 16th to lead UK.

The Cats will face their stiffest competition of the year in the 54-hole tournament. Six teams from the SEC are in this week?s top-25 poll according to Golfweek, led by No. 5 Georgia. Vanderbilt and Auburn also claim top-10 rankings heading into the championships as well.

UK has recorded three top-10 team finishes this year, led by their most recent first-place performance at the Big River Telephone Company Lady Racer Classic. The Cats also took fourth in the Wildcat Fall Invitational and sixth in the Ross Resorts Invitational to close out fall play. The squad is led by Eva Gessner, who has a 78.46 stroke average heading into the weekend. The senior has finished in the top 15 in three of her last five tournaments.

Auburn rallied from six strokes down in 2003 to win the school’s fourth Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championship by two strokes over Florida. Lady Gator freshman Aimee Cho, playing in Sunday’s final grouping, birdied the 18th hole to take the individual medal by one stroke over SEC Freshman of the Year Violeta Retamoza of Tennessee.

The Cats have never registered a team title or had a student-athlete take home medalist honors at the conference tournament. Georgia leads the league in conference titles with 10.

Live results from the tournament can be accessed at www.golfstat.com. Complete results after each round will also be available at UK?s web site, www.ukatheltics.com.