Arkansas women finish 6th at Jackson T. Stephens Cup

DALLAS — In a tough field at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, the No. 1 Arkansas women’s golf team finished the 54 holes of stroke play in sixth place with a 2-under 862 (287-285290). Arkansas shot 2-over par in the third round. The Hogs were seven strokes behind a tie for fourth place with South Carolina and Texas A&M, but four ahead of seventh-place Duke. In a tournament with all seven teams in the Golfweek Top 18, including five teams in the top six, Arkansas was unable to advance into Wednesday’s match play.

“It was another great event and opportunity here at the Stephens Cup,” Arkansas women’s coach Shauna Taylor said. “We definitely didn’t have our best this week but the team did a lot of good. Each day we had someone play well, but we couldn’t quite get it all together to fire a low number.”

Through the 54 holes, Arkansas was led by the freshman Maria José Marin and Reagan Zibilski who tied for 12th with a 1-under 215. José Marin had to finish her final three holes of the second round in the morning, getting pars in each hole to finish the round with a 2-over 74. She got back on track in the third round with a 1-under 71, tallying three birdies, 13 pars and just two bogeys to finish with a 215 (70-7471). José Marin led the tournament in pars with 39. Zibilski’s 215 (71-73-71) marks a career best round for the young talent. On Wednesday, she logged five of her 12 birdies in the tournament.

Miriam Ayora finished out her final two holes from the second round in the morning, logging two pars to finish the round by matching a career low-round score of 5-under 67. She entered the final round in a tie for third, but had troubles on the back nine to begin the third round deep in a hole at 8-over par. The senior settled down on the front nine with two birdies and six pars, but she double bogeyed her final hole to end up with an 8-over 80 on the day. Ayora finished in a tie for 26th with a 3-over 219 (72-67-80).

Kendall Todd and Kajal Mistry tied for 31st with a 5-over 221 in the tournament after both carding a 74 in the third round. Todd was 4-over par through her back nine but settled in with her final nine holes to tally two birdies and seven pars and finish the week with a 221 (75-72-74). Mistry’s 5-over 221 (74-73-74) was wrapped up by tallying three birdies, but her three bogeys and double bogey on the seventh hole put her over par.

“We had a fall where everyone contributed to our success on and off the golf course,” Taylor said. “I have encouraged our team to remember the good because they have done an excellent job in a lot of areas. We will take this momentum and work this offseason to tidy up a few areas to prepare for the spring season.”

Three Hogs will play at the Little Rock Women’s Golf Classic from Oct. 22-24 in Hot Springs, Ark., as individuals before putting a final conclusion to the fall season.