SECs next for UA women golfers; men 3rd in Virginia

Brad McMakin (right), Arkansas men's golf coach, speaks Tuesday, April 9, 2019, alongside Shauna Taylor, Arkansas women's golf coach, during a press conference at Blessings Golf Club in Johnson.

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas women’s golf team will start pursuing its postseason aims today at the SEC Championships at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Hoover, Ala.

The Razorbacks, under 16th year Coach Shauna Taylor, will tee off at 9:10 a.m. on the 6,326-yard Legacy Course on the 10th hole with playing partners Georgia and Tennessee.

Senior Julia Gregg will lead off for the Razorbacks in the No. 5 spot in the lineup, followed by freshmen Megan Royal and Reagan Zibilski, senior Kajal Mistry and junior Miriam Ayora. Senior Ela Anacona will be available as an alternate.

The competition will be fierce, with eight SEC teams in the top 25, led by No. 3 LSU, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 Mississippi State and No. 10 Auburn.

Arkansas, which took its first SEC women’s golf title in 2018 with a veteran team led by Maria Fassi, Kaylee Benton, Dylan Kim and Alana Uriell, is looking to improve on a 13th-place finish at last year’s event. Gregg led the Razorbacks in that event by tying for 24th place at 5 over 221.

The format for the tournament is three rounds of stroke play, after which the top eight teams will advance to match play.

Rounds on Thursday and Friday will begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start.

Ayora leads the Razorbacks with a 72.61 scoring average, followed by Mistry (73.22) and Zibilski (74.57).

The Razorbacks have posted seven rounds at par or better in eight tournaments this season.

Men 3rd in Virginia 

Senior Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira fired a 6-under 65 on Tuesday to move up 29 spots and help the University of Arkansas men push into a third place finish at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial at Charlottesville, Va.

The Razorbacks tied for the day’s low round at 11-under 273 with tournament champion Florida State and surged past No. 6 Auburn, which began the day in third place but dropped to a tie for fourth.

Arkansas senior Segundo Oliva Pinto shot under 70 in all three rounds, including a 67 on the par 71 Birdwood Golf Course, to lead the Razorbacks with a fifth-place finish at 8 under for the three-round tournament.

Senior Wil Gibson of Jonesboro tied for 13th at 4 under, while Fernandez de Oliveira tied for 20th at 2 under and senior Julian Perico tied for 22nd at 1 under.

No. 7 Florida State ran away with the team title at 41 under.

Virginia’s Ben James, who tied Fernandez de Oliveira for the day’s low round, shared medalist honors at 11 under with Florida State’s Cole Anderson.

The Razorbacks will return to action on April 19 at the SEC championships in St. Simons Island, Ga.