Kentucky Women’s Golf Earns Sixth Seed at NCAA East Lansing Regional
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team has been selected as the sixth seed at the NCAA East Lansing Regional at Forest Akers Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan, it was announced on Golf Channel on Wednesday.
It will mark UK’s 21st regional appearance in program history, and its 10th regional appearance in Golda Borst’s 14 seasons as head coach.
“We are so excited for the opportunity to compete in the East Lansing Region,” Borst said. “I think this will be a good fit for us, especially in looking at the course and the type of grass that we will see there. We built some great momentum at the SEC Championship last week and we look forward to carrying that energy into NCAA Regionals.”
The NCAA Regionals are May 6-8, with 12 teams at each of the six regionals competing for a ticket to the 2024 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.
NCAA East Lansing Regional, here we come. 💪💙😼 pic.twitter.com/heQ3ocT1T3
— Kentucky Women’s Golf (@KentuckyWGolf) April 24, 2024
The 12 teams selected to the NCAA East Lansing Regional are as follows:
- Southern California
- Northwestern
- Florida
- Pepperdine
- Michigan State
- KENTUCKY
- Denver (The Summit League)
- Oklahoma State
- Indiana (Big Ten Conference)
- Augusta (Southland Conference)
- Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference)
- Oakland (Horizon League)
For the first time in NCAA Women’s Golf Championship history, the final site will be at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, from May 17-22. Moreover, this is just the second straight season that 30 teams and 156 players will advance to the final site, a revision made prior to last season in order to match the number of teams and players at the annual NCAA Men’s Golf Championship.
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, Arizona. Four of the five players who contributed to that piece of history are still on the Kentucky roster, including Jensen Castle, Laney Frye, María Villanueva Aperribay and Marissa Wenzler.
Kentucky is currently ranked 32nd in the nation, according to Scoreboard powered by Clippd, boasting a 289.7 stroke average through nine tournaments in 2023-24. If the season ended today, that would be the third-best, single-season stroke average in program history, just one-tenth off of last season’s school record. The Wildcats are coming off of a historic performance at the Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championship just last week, making their first cut in six seasons of the remodeled format. Laney Frye, a senior All-American, came in third place on a 6-under and led the field with 13 birdies throughout stroke play.
Forest Akers, recognized as one of the best public golf clubs in Michigan, is the home of Michigan State’s golf programs.
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.
