Arkansas women's golf opens season

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 15th-ranked University of Arkansas women’s golf team opens the 2008-09 season this weekend at the NCAA Preview in Owings Mills, Md., Sept. 6-7. Arkansas is coming off a program-best eighth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championship earning a trip to the preview by virtue of that finish. “We’re excited to back into the swing,” said head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor. “It was quick – quicker than I realized. We’ve been in class for a little over a week and the first event is here already. I’m really excited to see the team tee it up for the first time.” Arkansas hits the road after a tough couple rounds of qualifying. The Razorbacks will travel lone senior Lucy Nunn, juniors Kristin Ingram and Alex Schulte, sophomore Kelli Shean and freshman Katy Nugent this weekend. One of the biggest questions surrounding the Razorbacks this year concerns the graduation of the best player to ever come through the program – Stacy Lewis. The four-time All-Southeastern Conference and All-America selection posted double-digit wins for her career including a pair of SEC titles and the 2007 NCAA Championship. “Ya know, we had a great supporting cast last year,” said Estes-Taylor. “There is no doubt that Stacy was amazing and we’ll definitely miss her but we can build on last year’s accomplishments. We have a balanced lineup and any one of these players can go low.” A lot of eyes will be on the senior Nunn. Nunn stepped up her game as her junior season closed and won her first amateur event this summer. Nunn and Arkansas will have their hands full in the opener with a tough field. Included in the preview is No. 10 Alabama, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 9 Auburn, No. 11 Denver, No. 3 Duke, No. 8 Florida, No. 6 Georgia, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Purdue, No. 1 Southern California, No. 18 Texas A&M, No. 14 Virginia, No. 12 Wake Forest and host Georgetown. For more information about Arkansas women’s golf, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.