Kentucky Women’s Golf Begins NCAA East Lansing Regional on Monday
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team will compete at the NCAA East Lansing Regional as the sixth seed Monday through Wednesday, which is hosted at Forest Akers Golf Course (par 72, 6,325 yards) in East Lansing, Michigan. The Wildcats will tee off in the first round Monday at 9 a.m. ET on No. 10, paired with Michigan State and Pepperdine.
The top five teams and the top individual not on an advancing team at the end of 54 holes of stroke play will improve to the final site.
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. This is just the second straight season that 30 teams and 156 players will advance to the final site from across the six regions, 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. However, this will mark the Cats’ 21st regional appearance in program history, and their 10th regional appearance in Golda Borst’s 14 seasons as head coach.
Kentucky has faced five of its 11 opponents in the NCAA East Lansing Regional field at some point in 2023-24, including No. 2 Northwestern (0-2), No. 3 Florida (2-1), No. 5 Michigan State (2-2), No. 7 Denver (1-0) and No. 10 Augusta (1-0).
The 12 teams competing this week are as follows:
- Southern California
- Northwestern (0-2)
- Florida (2-1)
- Pepperdine
- Michigan State (2-2)
- KENTUCKY
- Denver (The Summit League) (1-0)
- Oklahoma State
- Indiana (Big Ten Conference)
- Augusta (Southland Conference) (1-0)
- Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference)
- Oakland (Horizon League)
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 last season’s school record.
The Wildcats are coming off a historic performance at the Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championship in mid April, 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. Kentucky went on to lose to eventual conference champions Mississippi State in the match-play quarterfinals.
In fact, in part thanks to her performance at the conference championship, Frye was recently named to the All-SEC First Team, her third appearance on an All-SEC team and her first appearance on the first time.
Frye (70.7) headlines the lineup this week, which also includes Marissa Wenzler (73.1), Cathryn Brown (73.2), Marta López Echevarría (74.8) and María Villanueva Aperribay (75.3).
Like at the SEC Championship, Brown and López Echevarría will be playing in their first NCAA Regionals. They have proven they’re a match for the big stage, both finishing inside the top 25 at the conference championship. Meanwhile, Wenzler was just named the team’s most improved winner, boasting the second-best scoring average on the team and the best of her college career. Villanueva Aperribay will make her first appearance since the NEXUS Collegiate in Nassau, Bahamas, in February.
Forest Akers, recognized as one of the best public golf clubs in Michigan, is the home of Michigan State’s golf programs. The field can expect mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the lower 70s on Monday and Wednesday, with a chance of showers on Tuesday.
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.
