Shipley, Chang to Use Extra Year of Eligibility, Return for 2020-21
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The entire roster that was in the midst of a record-setting 2019-20 Kentucky women’s golf campaign will be back for the 2020-21 season with seniors Josephine Chang and Sarah Shipley returning for their NCAA-granted extra year of eligibility.
The seniors have decided to accept an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility provided to spring sports student-athletes who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am so grateful for Mr. (Mitch) Barnhart, my coaches and the other leaders within the athletic department for handling the situation the way they have and for fighting for their players to get their seasons back,” Shipley said. “God has been ever present throughout this pandemic and has provided peace and blessings despite the hard times that are amidst us. I am so blessed for the people and the leaders He has placed around me and am so thankful for that. I can’t wait to return another year to play for the University of Kentucky and to continue getting #BirdiesForBrownie. Go Big Blue!”
Said Chang: “The last four years at the University of Kentucky have taught me what it means to work hard and make sacrifices to break glass ceilings. It was heartbreaking when my senior season – and arguably our team’s breakout season – was cut short due to COVID-19. However, I am very excited to announce that I will be coming back next year to finish what we started with arguably one of the best teams I have ever been a part of. Here’s to one more year of making #BirdiesForBrownie with my second family in the Bluegrass State!”
Chang and Shipley were in the middle of helping UK to a breakthrough season before it was cut short by the pandemic. The Wildcats were almost surely headed to a seventh NCAA regionals appearance in the 10-year Golda Borst era before all NCAA winter and spring championships were canceled due to safety concerns.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Sarah and Josephine back next fall,” Borst said. “Neither of them flinched when they were asked if they wanted to come back and play another year. I think that speaks to the passion that they have for our university and for our program. I am just so happy for them and excited about the opportunity that’s ahead of all of us.”
Shipley is expected to graduate in this summer with a degree in integrated strategic communication but will pursue additional educational opportunities at Kentucky. Chang is slated to graduate in the spring of 2021 with degrees in both biology and kinesiology.
On the course, the senior duo helped UK to some of the best marks of the Borst era, including two team championships to start the season and the best team scoring average in school history. The former achievement marked the first consecutive titles since the 1990-91 season and the latter shattered the previous school record by nearly seven strokes. Kentucky also posted three of the top 10 rounds in school history in 2019-20.
Shipley was not only a major factor in the team’s success this past season, she’s been a central figure of the program’s evolution since her freshman season. She has appeared in 37 events, and at 99 rounds played, she’s poised to make a run at the most career rounds at Kentucky, which currently belongs to Ashleigh Albrecht with 111. With a career 75.5 stroke average, Shipley owns four top-10 finishes and seven top-20 showings.
The Hastings, Michigan native posted a career- low 73.9 stroke average this past season and set a number of career bests, including a near individual championship at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, the Wildcats’ home tournament. Shipley was in or near the lead for much of the tournament and finished in a tie for fifth place with a 2-under-par 214. Both marks were career bests.
Chang has appeared in 25 events with 68 rounds played. She currently sports a 76.9 career scoring average with two top-10 finishes and four top-20 showings.
The senior from Rancho Cucamonga, California was limited for much of the 2019-20 season with a nagging wrist injury. When healthy, Chang has shown the ability to be a valuable contributor. She tied for second place at the Colonel Classic in her junior season, tied for fourth in the stroke-play portion of the 2016 East & West Match Play tournament, and opened her career with four straight rounds of par or better. She also won what was then the second SEC Freshman of the Week honor in program history that season.
In addition to the return of the seniors, all other eight Wildcats who guided Kentucky to a No. 25 final ranking in the final Golfstat rankings will be back next season, plus add incoming freshman Laney Frye, the 2018 Kentucky High School Athletic Association individual state champion, and Augusta transfer María Villanueva Aperribay, who posted a 73.6 stroke average in her first season in college.
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.
