Estes-Taylor announces 2012-13 schedule

FAYETTEVILLE – Nine regular season events highlight the 2012-13 University of Arkansas women’s golf schedule announced by head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor today.

The Razorbacks return everyone from last year’s NCAA Championship participant team including two-time National Golf Coaches Association First-Team All-American Emily Tubert.  She, along with senior Victoria Vela, juniors Emma Lavy and Emily Podzielinski and sophomore Hally Leadbetter, helped Arkansas to a runner-up finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship, an eight-place showing at the NCAA Central Regional Championship and the program’s fifth NCAA Championship appearance.

“I’m really excited about this team and the upcoming season,” Estes-Taylor said.  “We have a team that is full of depth and we will be challenged each week with this schedule.  I believe every event will prepare us for the end result at the National Championship in Athens, Ga.”

This season, Estes-Taylor and the Razorbacks mix up the schedule a bit with two new events and a return to a couple of invitationals the team has not played in recently.

The season is scheduled to open Sept. 10-12 with the first of four fall events in West Point, Miss., at The Ole Waverly Bulldog Invitational hosted by SEC foe Mississippi State.  This is the first time in program history Arkansas has competed at this event but it is not the first time Arkansas has played Ole Waverly. 

The Razorbacks finished ninth at the 2007 SEC Championship at this course.  Although no current team members took part in that event, Estes-Taylor is familiar with the course and the area and will provide insider knowledge for Arkansas.

Arkansas wraps up the fall with a pair of familiar events at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational Oct. 12-14 and the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational Oct. 28-30.

This will be the fourth appearance at the North Carolina-hosted Lady Tar Heel Invite at Finley Golf Course.  Arkansas finished 15th at this event last year but rallied late with a 288 in the final round.  Tubert paced the team with a 217 and a tie for 15th overall.

The Texas-hosted Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational returns to Arkansas’ schedule again for the ninth time in program history.  The Razorbacks were ninth at the event last year with Lavy leading the team with a 222 and a tie for 11th overall.

The team breaks for the semester returning to action Feb. 10-12, at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.  This is the team’s fourth appearance and the Razorbacks are coming off a solid fourth-place finish at the 2012 event.

Arkansas picks up a new event traveling to Peoria, Ariz., for the Westbrook Invitational hosted by Wisconsin Feb. 24-25.  This 13-team event takes place

The spring continues March 8-10 at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Hilton Head Island, S.C.  Last year’s inaugural event was rain-shortened and Arkansas is anxious to return to this golf course.

The spring break week continues to be busy for the Razorbacks with a trip to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU Golf Classic.  Arkansas’ most recent appearance at LSU came in 2011 with a tournament win in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion at the University Club.      Tubert, a freshman then, won the event shooting 219 with Vela and Lavy also competing.

The regular season wraps up March 29-31, at The Bryan Collegiate in Brown’s Summit, N.C.  This is the fourth appearance for Arkansas and the first since the 2009-10 season.

The Razorbacks move into the postseason April 19-21 at the SEC Championship.  The conference event moves to a neutral site for the first time, taking place at Graystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala.  Arkansas was the SEC runner-up after hosting the tournament last year.  It was the fifth consecutive top five finish for Arkansas.

The NCAA Regional Championships are scheduled for May 9-11.  Auburn University hosts the East with Oklahoma and Stanford hosting the Central and West championships, respectively.

The season concludes with the NCAA Championship May 21-24, in Athens, Ga.  Estes-Taylor is looking to guide the Razorbacks back to her alma mater for the biggest event of the season.