Estes-Taylor excited for 2009-10 schedule

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Old and new faces mix in the 2009-10 University of Arkansas women’s golf scheduled announced by head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor today. The Razorbacks, coming off a tie for ninth place at the 2009 NCAA West Regional Championship, graduate just one student-athlete from a year ago and Estes-Taylor is excited about how the schedule stacks up for the returners and incoming players. “I feel like again this year we have one of the toughest schedules in the country,” she said.“My philosophy has always been to play the best teams week in and week out. We are playing out west twice and then play a very good central and SEC-heavy schedule. It will give our team an opportunity to test our games at the highest level every week. It will prepare us in every way for our championship season in April and May.” The Razorbacks open the year with a four-tournament fall slate beginning Sept. 19-20 at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. Arkansas has one other appearance at this event in 2004 and while familiar to Estes-Taylor, it will be new to the team. September continues at the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in Manhattan, Kan. It’s Arkansas’ first trip to Kansas for an event. Arkansas wraps up the fall with a pair of tournaments in October, first at the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate Oct. 16-18, in Knoxville, Tenn. This has become a staple in the Razorbacks’ fall schedule as the team makes its seventh consecutive and eighth overall appearance at the event. The fall concludes at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Oct. 26-28. It’s the Razorbacks second team appearance with the first coming in the fall of 2005. The Razorbacks return to the links in mid-February for a six-event regular season that the team hopes to parlay into the postseason. Arkansas opens at the Central District Invitational Feb. 22-23, in Parrish, Fla., followed by a new event on the schedule — the Kinderlou Challenge Feb. 28-March 2. The Kinderlou Challenge is co-hosted by Kentucky and Kennesaw State in Valdosta, Ga. March saw a schedule change taking Arkansas from the LSU/Cleveland Classic in Baton Rouge, La., to the Tiger/Wave Golf Classic in New Orleans, La. LSU’s golf course is undergoing some renovations and will not be ready. Arkansas then makes is 15th consecutive appearance at the Georgia-hosted Liz Murphey Collegiate Challenge in Athens, Ga. The Liz Murphey and the SEC Championship are the only two events the Razorbacks have taken part in every year since adding women’s golf. The Razorbacks return to the Bryan National in Browns Summit, N.C., before traveling to the SEC Championship in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The postseason begins with the NCAA Regional Championships. This year the Central Regional is hosted by Indiana at Otter Creek Golf Club. The East Regional takes place at Ironwood Country Club and is hosted by East Carolina and the West Regional returns to Stanford and the Stanford Golf Course. All regional championships take place May 6-8. The 2010 NCAA Championship will be hosted by UNC-Wilmington at the Country Club of Landfall May 18-21. Arkansas has made three team and one individual appearance at the NCAA Championship. Arkansas returns to campus with one of the most senior-laden teams they have had in recent years. Seniors Kristin Ingram, Tiffany Phelps, Corinna Rees and Alex Schulte return along with junior Kelli Shean and Katy Nugent for the 2009-10 season. Estes-Taylor and the Razorbacks also welcome the addition of four newcomers in Emma Lavy, Victoria Vela, Meagan Roberts and Rachel Carpenter. For more information about Arkansas women’s golf, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS 2009-10 RAZORBACK WOMEN’S GOLF