Kentucky Women’s Golf Earns Fifth Seed at NCAA Pullman Regional
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team has been selected as the fifth seed in the 12-team field at the NCAA Pullman Regional at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington, it was announced on Golf Channel on Wednesday. It will mark UK’s 20th regional appearance in program history, and its ninth regional appearance in Golda Borst’s 13 seasons as head coach.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to compete at the Pullman Regional, and I think it’s a great site for our team,” Borst said. “The grass and course conditions will be similar to what we face at home, so we are looking forward to seeing the course and getting after it!”
The NCAA Regionals are May 8-10, with 12 teams at each of the six regional sites competing for a ticket to the 2023 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship. The top five teams at each regional, and the top individual not on an advancing team, will improve to the final site at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 19-24.
The number of teams (30) and players (156) advancing to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship is new this season, a revision made in order to match the number of teams and players at the annual NCAA Men’s Golf Championship.
Kentucky is heading northwest. 🤠✈️
The Wildcats have been selected as the fifth seed in the 12-team field in the NCAA Pullman Regional.#KWG ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/mRBRFusGL0
— Kentucky Women’s Golf (@KentuckyWGolf) April 26, 2023
The Wildcats have only ever advanced to one final site in program history, finishing in a tie for 18th place at the 2021 NCAA Championship in Scottsdale. Four of the five players who contributed to that piece of history are still a part of Kentucky’s current lineup, including Jensen Castle, Laney Frye, María Villanueva Aperribay and Marissa Wenzler.
Kentucky is ranked 29th in the nation, according to Golfstat, boasting a 290.4 stroke average through 10 tournaments in 2022-23. UK’s traditional lineup has won two of its seven tournaments this season, going back-to-back in October at the Illini Women’s Invitational and the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational.
During that stretch, Castle, a senior from West Columbia, South Carolina, earned her first medalist honor in her college career on a 7-under at Ruth’s Chris.
Frye, a junior from Lexington, Kentucky, is currently leading the lineup with a 71.1 stroke average through nine events and six top-10 finishes in 2022-23. The Wildcat is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes, including earning a share of sixth place at the 2023 Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championship. It marked the program’s best individual finish in more than a decade.
Kentucky has the necessary depth in order to make a run in the postseason, as each player in its traditional lineup has had an individual finish inside the top 11 in 2022-23.
Palouse Ridge Golf Club is set within the rolling hills of Washington State University’s Pullman campus. It is the home course of the university’s Cougar golf teams.
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.
