Shean leads young team

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas women’s golf team travels to New Orleans, La., for the Tiger/Wave Golf Classic Friday-Sunday.

Arkansas, ranked No. 42 this week, faces a tough 23-team field that includes several Southeastern Conference teams as well as many of the top-ranked programs this week.

“This is an extremely tough field,” Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said. “There a many of the top 25 teams here and the competition will challenge us.”

This year’s field includes No. 7 Alabama, No. 3 Auburn, College of Charleston, Furman, No. 12 Georgia, Kentucky, No. 24 Louisville, No. 20 LSU, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, North Carolina-Wilmington, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, No. 5 Purdue, No. 16 Tennessee, Tulane, No. 25 TCU, UCF, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Virginia and No. 10 Wake Forest (rankings according to Golfstat head-to-head).

Arkansas enters the tournament after a tough outing at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge last week. The Razorbacks played to a 13th-place finish paced by junior Kelli Shean’s tie for seventh overall.

“We were disappointed with the finish but we did a lot of good things,” Estes-Taylor said. “We just have to be more consistent top to bottom and we have to solidify the lineup for the future events.”

Arkansas travels five this week headlined by Shean. The Cape Town, South Africa, native has been the Razorbacks’ top finisher in every event this year and continues to set personal bests.

Shean is joined by seniors Kristin Ingram and Tiffany Phelps, junior Corinna Rees and freshman Victoria Vela.

“We’re looking for some consistency,” Estes-Taylor said. “We are preparing for the postseason and are working to shore up the lineup. We’re young this year and I really didn’t know what to expect when the year began but there have been so many positives. There is a lot of energy and excitement and a desire to get better every time we tee it up.”