Arkansas’ women’s golf team carrying great expectations
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Taylor and her team cannot pretend they will soon forget the thrill of winning the Razorbacks’ first Southeastern Conference overall team championship in any women’s sport other than cross country and track, but they are not declaring their “mission accomplished.”
The No. 3 Razorbacks are the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Austin Regional tournament. SEC Player of the Year Maria Fassi leads Arkansas in the three-day tournament that starts today.
The top five teams from the 18-school field after three days of stroke play will join the top five teams from this week’s five other regionals to compete at the 2018 NCAA Golf Championships May 18-23 at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. Arkansas won the SEC championship April 22 in Birmingham, Ala.
“I think they know there’s a bigger mission,” Taylor said Friday before the Razorbacks’ last pre-Regional practice at their home course of The Blessings.
“We tried to celebrate the SEC Championship for a few days, but now it’s back to work and finishing up school and back to our normal routine. That’s something that I’ve been very adamant about this week that we be normal.”
Taylor was previously an assistant for the team before she was promoted to head coach. She said she relishes ‘SEC champion’ as a descriptive new normal.
“It’s taken the monkey off my back for sure,” Taylor said. “I’ve been 16 years waking up every day trying to help our team win a championship and am just really excited that it finally happened. I think it could open a floodgate of cool things in front of us. Once you get the first one, the next ones sometimes are easier.”
The team has a shot of joining indoor and outdoor track as the third women’s program at Arkansas to win
a national championship.
“We talked about expectations this week,” Taylor said. “Everybody expects us to do something, but it’s just about us doing Arkansas and Arkansas’ way. If we do that, we’ll be in good position.”
Her five that kept Arkansas alive in SEC stroke play included Fassi, Kaylee Benton, Alana Uriell, Dylan Kim and Cara Gorlei. They advanced to match play to earn victories over No. 12 Florida, No. 1 Alabama and No. 9 South Carolina for the championship. Taylor was subsequently named SEC Coach of the Year.
“Great players make coaches look really good,” Taylor said. “It’s all on them. They’ve done a great job of preparing and doing what’s required to do great things.
“Obviously, Maria doing the great things she’s done helped her win that award as well. She’s a hard worker and a great leader in the locker room and kind of a dream student-athlete.”
Benton clinched the crown in match play over South Carolina after match play victories over Florida and Auburn off a horrific stroke play start.
“Match play is a different beast,” Taylor said. “You don’t have to worry about that you make a 10 and it only counts one. You just lose the hole. She started the first round of SEC’s with a 46 and then ends up being a tremendous three points for us in all three matches. It came down to her match but everybody else contributed in a huge way.
“We always talk about that it takes a village,” Taylor added. “It’s everybody’s contribution, not just Kaylee 2-putting to win the SEC Championship. We don’t get there without Maria Fassi and Dylan Kim getting us the two points before that.”
Or without Uriell throughout the season, though her last-hole problems closing her losing match to South Carolina put the onus on Benton.
“She’s been great,” Taylor said. “I think she learned a lot and we learned a lot. She knows what do to do. She has been a staple for us. We are not where we are without her. She’s done a fantastic job.”