LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The University of Kentucky women?s golf team opens its 2005-06 season Monday as it travels to Simpsonville, Ky., to participate in the fourth annual Napa River Grill Cardinal Cup. The two-day event will be played at the University of Louisville?s Cardinal Club beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday with a shotgun start. Live stats will be available on golfstat.com.
The Wildcats, who return nine letterwinners from last year?s squad, were slated to begin their schedule last weekend at the College of Charleston?s Cougar Classic but chose not to attend the event due to the impending threat of Hurricane Ophelia.
Participating teams at the Napa River Grill Cardinal Cup include: Central Florida, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisville, Marshall, South Florida, Southern Miss and Wofford.
?Our team has really been looking forward to this season,? UK?s fifth-year head coach Stephanie Barker said. ?We proved last year that we are more than capable of being one of the top teams in the country. We are really excited about this year.?
The Wildcats? top returnees include Erin Faulkner (Bowling Green, Ky.) and Ali Kicklighter (DeLand, Fla.). Faulkner was fourth in final per-stroke average last season at UK with a 78.82 mark and the senior led the Cats at the Southeastern Conference championships in Tunica, Miss., last season with a three-day score of 231. Kicklighter, who participated in the U.S. Amateurs in Roswell, Ga., this past summer, played in nine tournaments (27 rounds) last year and led the squad with a team-best 77.56 per-stroke average.
?All of our top players from last season have returned for us,? Barker said. ?The entire team worked hard this summer and looks ready for the upcoming season. I fully expect for everyone to step up big for us this year.?
The 6,181-yard, par-72 Cardinal Club course was opened in October 2001, and has been selected to host the BIG EAST golf tournaments in April 2007.
Complete recaps and statistics of the tournament will be available on www.ukathletics.com.
