No. 20 Women's Golf Closes Fall Season at East Lake Cup
ATLANTA – No. 20 Arkansas women’s golf will make its East Lake Cup debut on Monday, October 26, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
The East Lake Cup is a premier collegiate golf tournament featuring the four semifinalists from the previous season’s men’s and women’s NCAA Championships.
The format is one round of stroke play on Monday to set the seeding for Tuesday’s first round of match play. After Tuesday’s matches, the winners will face off for the East Lake Cup, while the losers will play for third place.
The event will air live on Golf Channel each day from 2-5 p.m.
Arkansas earned a spot in the field with its first-ever semifinal finish at the 2026 NCAA Championship. The Hogs beat Oklahoma State, 5-0, in the match play quarterfinals but fell to USC, 3-2, in the semifinals.
The Field (Scoreboard Rankings)
3. USC
20. Arkansas
29. Oklahoma State
53. Eastern Michigan
Oklahoma State was a quarterfinalist at the 2026 NCAA Championship and replaced Stanford in the East Lake Cup field.
Lineup & Tee Times (CT)
1. Maria Jose Marin – 10:18 a.m.
2. Sara Brentcheneff – 10:06 a.m.
3. Natalie Blonien – 9:54 a.m.
4. Ebba Liljeberg – 9:42 a.m.
5. Swetha Sathish – 9:30 a.m.
Historic Season
Arkansas is coming off its deepest postseason run in program history, an NCAA Championship semifinal appearance.
High on the Hogs
The Hogs were ranked inside the top five in both preseason rankings: No. 4 in Golfweek’s top 30 and No. 5 in Golf Channel’s top 30.
Preseason Honors
Two Razorbacks earned preseason All-America honors from Golf Channel and Golfweek. Senior Maria Jose Marin was placed on both outlets’ first team, while sophomore Sara Brentcheneff was a member of the third team.
Marin was also placed on the ANNIKA Award’s preseason watch list for the third straight season.
The Returners (2025-26 Scoreboard Ranking)
Arkansas returns four of its starting five from last season: senior Maria Jose Marin (2), senior Abbey Schutte (58), sophomore Sara Brentcheneff (69) and sophomore Swetha Sathish (283). Also returning is junior Natalie Blonien, who appeared in both of the Razorbacks’ matches at the NCAA Championship, and sophomore Sofia Cherif Essakali.
The Newcomers
In the offseason, the Hogs brought in Ebba Liljeberg, the top player in the transfer portal. Liljeberg earned freshman All-American honors in her debut season at Missouri and finished the season ranked No. 66 in Scoreboard’s national player ranking.
Arkansas brought in one freshman: Melliyal Schmitt of Reunion Island.
Hogs on TV
Five of Arkansas’ tournaments will air on television:
East Lake Cup (Oct. 26-28) – Golf Channel
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (March 1-3) – Golf Channel
Nanea Cup (March 11-14) – Golf Channel
SEC Championship (April 16-20) – SEC Network
NCAA Championship (May 21-26) – Golf Channel
For more information on Arkansas women’s golf, follow @RazorbackWGolf on social media.
