The Kansas women’s golf team finished seventh in NCAA regional competition in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the conclusion of its third and final round on Wednesday afternoon.
KU, which had entered as the No. 7 seed in the regional, was looking for a second straight appearance in the NCAA National Championship in Carlsbad, California, which would have been the fifth overall in program history. But the Jayhawks started out in a tie for eighth after the first day when they shot 12-over, and did not make up much ground over the course of the following two, ultimately shooting 34-over as a team and falling 12 strokes short of fifth-place conference foe Texas Tech.
The eighth-seeded Red Raiders, at 22-over, advanced to Omni La Costa Resort and Spa along with No. 1 seed USC (1-over), No. 5 seed Ohio State (6-over), No. 2 seed Duke (16-over) and No. 6 seed Northwestern (17-over). Failing to qualify but ahead of KU was No. 3 seed UCF (24-over), and after the Jayhawks came No. 4 seed Oklahoma (41-over) and No. 9 seed UNLV (41-over), No. 10 seed Columbia (51-over), No. 11 seed Quinnipiac (72-over) and No. 12 seed Oakland (82-over).
Northwestern’s Ashley Yun, who shot 5-under for a one-stroke victory, was the individual champion. The best individual not on an advancing team, who will move on to nationals, was Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley, who finished in fourth place at 3-under.
“I’m really proud of our fight on the back nine today,” KU coach Lindsay Kuhle said in a press release. “We were 14-over on the front nine and easily could’ve just given up and quit because things were tough. The weather was tough and the course was hard, but we fought.”
The best Jayhawk of the week was the highly consistent Swedish sophomore Ebba Nordstedt, who shot 2-over and tied for 11th in the regional. She eagled the 13th hole in her first round on Monday, when she shot 1-over; she was then even on Tuesday and 1-over on Wednesday.
Senior Anna Wallin tied for 26th at 8-over. She had finished below par on Tuesday. Also in action for the Jayhawks were fellow senior Amy DeKock (tied for 38th at 13-over), freshman Kinslea Jones (tied for 42nd at 15th-over) and last year’s regional champion, junior Lyla Louderbaugh (tied for 50th at 19-over). Freshman Marieke Ebens served as a substitute.
KU’s season came to a close in regional play after it had won both team and individual titles in regional competition last year in Columbus, Ohio.
“This is a team that showed great fight and resilience, which showcases how proud they are to represent KU,” Kuhle said. “As their coach, I’m extremely proud of how they competed. I’m very proud of their growth and maturity with everything they did this year.”
The Jayhawks are not expected to have much roster turnover this offseason. DeKock has exhausted her eligibility and will pursue a professional career, but Kuhle has said that Wallin will come back for another year; she did not compete during her sophomore season (2023-24). Those were the only two seniors on this year’s roster.
Darren Carroll/USGA
