Wildcats Look to Finish Fall Season on Hot Streak at The Ally
WEST POINT, Miss. – After posting a second straight top-five finish at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational just over a week ago, the Kentucky women’s golf team will travel to West Point, Mississippi for The Ally at Old Waverly Golf Club.
The final fall tournament for the Wildcats will be played as a three-day, 54-hole stroke-play format starting on Monday. The course is set at 6,280 yards, a par 72 with a 74.7 rating and a 144 slope.
Kentucky will field the same lineup used in the Mason Rudolph Championship last month but in a different order: juniors Jensen Castle and Marissa Wenzler, sophomore Laney Frye, junior María Villanueva Aperribay, and fifth-year senior Rikke Svejgård Nielsen. Freshman Marta López Echevarría will compete as an individual.
The 12-team field will consist primarily of Southeastern Conference foes and a representative from the Big 12. Half the field is ranked in the latest Women’s Golf Coaches Association poll, headlined by Nov. 3 Arkansas, No. 6 Florida, No. 13 Alabama, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 19 Auburn and No. 22 TCU. Rounding out the field is LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
After a modest start to the season, the Wildcats bounced back and posted back-to-back top-five finishes – at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Tar Heel Invitational – for the first time since the 2019-20 year. Should Kentucky continue its stellar play and earn another top-five finish, it would be the first time the team has done so in three straight tournaments since the 2016-17 campaign.
Following a practice round Sunday, play will start Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Live scoring can be found throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com.
“It’s hard to believe that we are at the end of our fall season already,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “This semester has flown by and we’re excited to head back to Old Waverly as the team really enjoyed this event last fall. We have built some great momentum throughout this semester and we are looking forward to finishing strong this week.”
The recently renamed MSU tournament, The Ally, is in honor of former Bulldog golfer Ally McDonald Ewing. During her career in Starkville, Mississippi, Ewing was an All-American who set numerous program records and now plays on the LPGA Tour.
Old Waverly was founded in 1988 and has since become one of the most highly regarded private courses in the country thanks to its stunning backdrops and scenery. The course was designed by the award-winning duo of Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate, the ladder of which is a former U.S. Open Champion. This club is regularly seen in Golfweek’s Top 100 and Golf Digest’s Top 100 and was the former site of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2019.
In last year’s tournament, the Wildcats finished 12th with all 14 SEC teams and Southern Miss competing for a 15-team field.
But this Kentucky team comes in playing excellent golf with high expectations. Not only is the same group back from its 2021 NCAA Championship Finals appearance, UK is averaging a solid 73.9 strokes per round with 16 individual rounds of par or better.
In the team’s past outing in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Castle – the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion – again led with the best 54-total total on the team, shooting a cool 212, good for 4-under par and a 13th-place finish. Her 54-hole total was the second best of her collegiate career after setting her career best in the previous tournament. Five of her last six rounds have been par or better.
Frye found a career best during the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, firing her career-best 18-hole round in the opening round with a 4-under-par 68. She finished with a 54-hole total of 218, 2-over par, and has contributed to the team’s score in seven straight rounds.
While not setting any career low, Villanueva Apperibay has been the definition of consistent during her junior season. She has not shot above 218 in 54 holes this season, including two straight 54-hole 1-over-par totals. Four of her last five rounds were par or better.
Last time out, Wenzler posted her best 54-hole score since her freshman season. She started off solid at the Tar Heel Invitational with a career-low-tying 69 and finished with a 70 in the final round. Her 54-hole total of 216, even par, also tied her career best and put her right at par for the weekend.
Svejgård Nielsen will make her comeback to the lineup after a one-tournament absence. During her last tournament at the Mason Rudolph Championship, the fifth-year finished at 8-over par. The 2021 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year played in The Ally last season, shooting 225, which tied her for 49th.
In her career debut wearing the blue and white last week, López Echevarría held her own and contributed her second-round score of 77 to the team’s total. The freshman shot a total of 238 over the three rounds. She will look to build on that while representing Kentucky playing as an individual in West Point.
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.
