TUNICA, Miss. ? Kentucky recorded its lowest round of the season Sunday at the SEC Championships in Tunica, Miss. The Wildcats scored a season-low 299 to conclude the tournament in eighth place with a three-day total of 923 (310-314-299). After two holes of the required sudden victory playoff, Auburn outlasted Georgia to claim the SEC Women?s Golf Championship.
?I am really proud of the way that the team focused and performed today,? said UK head coach Stephanie Barker. ?Playing in the SEC Championships there are so many tough competitors and it was great to end the season with a season-low round.?
Junior Erin Faulkner recorded her highest championship finish as a Wildcat, tied for 27th with a three-day total of 231 (75-82-74). Arkansas? Stacy Lewis charged to the top of the leaderboard from her fourth-place second-day finish to claim top individual honors, firing a five-under-par for the final round. Lewis? three-day total of 214 (72-75-67) defeated Florida?s Whitney Myers who was six strokes off the pace grabbing the runner-up medal with a 220(72-74-74). Tennessee?s Jessica Shepley placed third with a 221, while Georgia?s Whitney Wade was fourth at 223.
?Elizabeth (Culbertson), Ali (Kicklighter) and Beth (Felts) played well all season and showed that at different times throughout the tournament,? Barker said. ?We really played well all three days, but had trouble finishing. Today we played better and looked ready to play.?
Freshman Elizabeth Dotson finished tied for 30th ending the tournament with a low-round 76. Dotson finished the championship with a score of 233 (80-77-76), while junior Ali Kicklighter also recorded a tournament-low final round 75. Kicklighter carded 234 (83-76-75) for the three days to finish tied for 32nd. Sophomore Emily Culbertson closed out the season by tying a career-low score of 74 for the third round. Culberston finished tied for 40th with a score of 236 (78-84-74), while freshman teammate Beth Felts, who fired a 236 (77-79-80), also finished tied for 40th.
?We ended the year with confidence and we do not lose anyone for next year,? Barker said. ?It was neat to see them do so well and with that we have something positive to build on going into the summer.?
