Lady'Back linksters return to the course at SECs

Jump to complete notes FAYETTEVILLE — The ninth-ranked University of Arkansas women’s golf team returns to the links this weekend for the program’s 11 Southeastern Conference Championship in Nashville, Tenn. The Lady Razorbacks are coming off a couple weeks rest after recording the program’s best finish at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga., and head coach Kelley Hester is pleased with where the team is headed. "Every fall you start the season with some excitement," said Hester. "We are still excited every time we play and that’s a great thing to have in our corner. The SEC Championship is a big tournament. Our players see that as equally important as the NCAA Championship, especially after last year’s finish. The SEC is rich in top 25 teams and seven of the 12 are in the top 27 in the country. We’re fired up and ready to go." Arkansas sends a senior-heavy lineup into action again this week. It features Amanda McCurdy, Courtney Mahon and Lindsey Hinshaw, all of whom have competed in every event this year. In addition, sophomores Stacy Lewis and Ashley Medders will be making the trip. Lewis won the individual title last year leading Arkansas to the program’s best finish, a third-place showing just one stroke out of the top spot and a playoff. This year, Arkansas enters the week as one of the top teams, trailing only fourth-ranked Georgia and No. 5 Auburn in the most recent rankings. In addition to No. 9 Arkansas, four other teams find themselves in the top 30. They include No. 11 Tennessee, No. 15 host Vanderbilt, No. 16 Florida and No. 27 South Carolina. This year’s event takes place on familiar ground for Arkansas at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. The three-day event will be played on the Ironhorse Course, a 6,217-yard, par 72 course that the Lady’Backs played earlier this year. "We played pretty well there in the fall," acknowledged Hester. "We had several outstanding individual performances and it’s a course we feel comfortable with." Arkansas opened the year at the Vanderbilt-hosted Mason Rudolph Championship in late September finishing third in the 15-team event. Arkansas posted an 884 finishing behind top-ranked Duke and No. 4 Georgia on the course. The Lady Razorbacks tee off at 9:15 a.m., Central on Friday from the first hole. The Lady’Backs are paired with Georgia and Auburn in the first round. The event will be covered by Golfstat.com and live stats will be available at www.golfstat.com. For a complete recap of each day’s action, point your browser to LADYBACKS.COM.