FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 20 University of Arkansas women’s golf team got a somewhat surprising draw on Wednesday with the Razorbacks being selected to play at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional by the NCAA selection committee.
The Razorbacks, led by 15th year Coach Shauna Taylor, will be the fourth seed at the event scheduled to be played at the University of Michigan Golf Club on May 9-11.
Mountain West champion San Jose State is the top seed at the regional, followed by Virginia, host and Big Ten champion Michigan, Arkansas, Central Florida and Virginia Tech. Arkansas is the only SEC school in the 12-team field.
The other regional sites and hosts are Albuquerque N.M. (New Mexico), Franklin, Tenn. (Vanderbilt), Palo Alto, Calif. (Stanford), Stillwater, Okla. (Oklahoma State) and Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida State).
Other SEC teams in the field include 1 seed South Carolina, 4 seed Ole Miss and 6 seed Mississippi State in Albuquerque; 2 seed Florida and 5 seed Georgia in Franklin; 4 seed Auburn in Stillwater; 2 seed Alabama, 3 seed Texas A&M and 6 seed Vanderbilt in Franklin; and 3 seed LSU and 5 seed Kentucky in Palo Alto.
The top four teams and the top two individuals on non-advancing teams will emerge from each regional to play at the NCAA Championships, scheduled for May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Razorbacks began the fall season with back-to-back wins at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C., and the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on their home course, but they have not been as dominant since Brooke Matthews of Rogers announced she would turn pro in January.
Arkansas’ top finish since then has been seventh place at the Mountainview Collegiate on March 18-20 in Tuscon, Ariz. The Razorbacks placed 13th at the SEC championships two weeks ago, failing to advance to match play for the first time since Arkansas won the event in 2018, the year the format was adopted.