No. 10 Women’s Golf Prepped for 12th NCAA Championship Appearance
CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 10 Arkansas women’s golf team is chasing its first national title in program history at the 2024 NCAA Championship hosted at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California for the first time. This marks Arkansas’ 12th NCAA Championship appearance in program history, 10th under head coach Shauna Taylor, and first since 2022.
The National Championship will kick off on Friday, May 17 and run through Wednesday, May 22. All 30 teams and six individuals will play three rounds of stroke play from Friday through Sunday. The top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals will advance for one additional day of stroke play on Monday, May 20. Following 72 holes of stroke play, the top eight teams will advance to match play, as the No. 1 seed will play the No. 8 seed, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 in quarterfinals of match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place Tuesday, May 21, while the championship match will be played Wednesday, May 22.
As the No. 10 team in the country and coming off an NCAA Las Vegas Regionals victory, Arkansas will play with No. 11 Northwestern and No. 12 Oregon. That group will be a part of the afternoon wave on Friday, going off of the first tea at 3:17 p.m. CT. The Hogs will then tee off the 10th tee on Saturday at 9:57 a.m. CT. The tee times on Sunday will be determined off 36-hole scores, with the first group going off at 8:40 a.m. CT. The last three days of play at NCAA Championship will be broadcast on the Golf Channel.
Kajal Mistry is the No. 1 in the lineup, competing in her second NCAA Championship. Mistry is coming off her second career victory with a 6-under 210 (66-69-75) to win a share at the individual title at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional. She holds a 71.95 scoring average with seven rounds at par or better. The graduate student has been playing some of her best golf, including a tie for 11th at the SEC Championship and a tie for fourth at The Bruzzy. Mistry, who is No. 52 according to the Scoareboard by Clippd Rankings has five top 20 finishes this year with a 73.50 career scoring average, while entering this weekend with 127 career rounds played.
Maria José Marin will play at the No. 2 spot. She is one of six finalists for the WGCA Freshman of the Year Presented by Strackaline and was the SEC Freshman of the Year. She is ranked No. 6 in the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings and No. 20 in the WAGR. José Marin is coming off a tie for eighth at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional after logging an even 216 (68-71-77). The Cali, Colombia native leads the Hogs with a 70.85 scoring average with 19 rounds at par or better and seven rounds in the 60s. She is going into the NCAA Championship with one tournament win, two runner-up showings, three top five finishes and eighth top 20 showings.
Kendall Todd will play at her first NCAA Championship, doing so in the No. 3 spot. She is coming off a tie for sixth with a 1-under 215 (73-66-76) at the NCAA Regionals. Todd holds a 72.00 scoring average with 14 rounds at par or better along with four top 10 finishes and seven top 20 showings. Todd also has the most pars on the team with 338 and is No. 83, according to the Scoreboard Presented by Clippd Rankings. She is entering this weekend with a 73.31 career scoring average and 80 career rounds played.
Reagan Zibilski will play at the No. 4 spot in her first NCAA Championship showing. She tied for 36th with a 10-over 226 (74-76-76) at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional and holds four top 20 showings. Zibilski has a 73.21 scoring average with 13 rounds at par or better. Her best showing this season was a tie for 11th with a 2-under 214 (72-72-70) at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic.
Miriam Ayora will play at the No. 5 spot in her second NCAA Championship and last collegiate event. Ayora tied for 36th with a 10-over 226 (73-74-79) at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional. She has the most birdies on the team with 95 and has 13 rounds at par or better along with a 72.83 scoring average. Ayora enters the weekend with a 73.98 career scoring average with 98 rounds played in her career.
Giovanna Fernandez will be the alternate for the Hogs. She has played as an individual at four tournaments this season, including a career best eighth place showing at The Bruzzy with a 4-over 214 (71-74-69). Fernandez has a 74.18 scoring average with three rounds at par or better. The junior will be available as a substitute during the NCAA Regionals.
Arkansas has sat inside the top 10 in each week’s inaugural Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings. The team has four wins, which is the second most in school history and most since 2013-14, as well as seven top five showings. Head coach Shauna Taylor has been named to the WGA National Coach of the Year Presented by Golf Pride Watch List.
COMPETING TEAMS LISTED BY SEED (SCOREBOARD BY CLIPPD RANKINGS)
- Stanford (1)
- Wake Forest (2)
- South Carolina (3)
- LSU (4)
- UCLA (5)
- Auburn (6)
- USC (7)
- Texas (8)
- Duke (9)
- Arkansas (10)
- Northwestern (11)
- Oregon (12)
- Texas A&M (13)
- Ole Miss (14)
- ASU (15)
- Clemson (16)
- Florida State (19)
- Vanderbilt (20)
- Pepperdine (21)
- Virginia (22)
- Mississippi State (23)
- SMU (25)
- San Jose State (26)
- North Carolina (27)
- Michigan State (30)
- Purdue (31)
- Baylor (34)
- Oklahoma State (39)
- Oregon State (43)
- Tulsa (44)
ROUND 1 TEE TIMES OFF 1 (CT) // PLAYING WITH NORTHWESTERN AND OREGON
3:17 p.m. – Miriam Ayora
3:28 p.m. – Reagan Zibilski
3:39 p.m. – Kendall Todd
3:50 p.m. – Maria José Marin
4:01 p.m. – Kajal Mistry
COURSE
La Costa Champions Course – Carlsbad, Calif. – Par 72 – 6,297 yards
LIVE SCORING
MORE INFORMATION
Keep up with all of the latest news and information and get behind the scenes looks into our program on our social media accounts. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWGolf and check out our Facebook page “Razorback Women’s Golf.” Stats, news and player information can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.