< PreviousIn an athletic department with success sto- ries across virtually all 22 varsity sports, perhaps the best one this season – if nothing else, the biggest turnaround – belongs to the Kentucky women’s golf team. After missing the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons, the Wildcats not only came back this season with a mission to return to the postseason in the spring, they believe they can compete with the nation’s very best. They have the results to prove it. Kentucky finished its fall season last weekend with some of the best results of any team in the country. The milestones are overwhelming for a program that had been stuck in neutral for the last few years: • Back-to-back championships at the Minnesota Invitational and Bettie Lou Evans Invitational • First multi-win season since 1997-98 • First back-to-back titles in the same season since 1990-91 when UK would go on to win a school record four tournaments • Runner-up finish at the Cardinal Cup • Final-round lead in all four tournaments • Ranked 20th in the latest Golfstat rankings • Nine individual top-10 showings “I’m immensely proud,” UK head coach Borst said after her team’s latest perfor- mance, a second-place finish at Louisville’s home tournament. “I don’t think we’ve had as strong of a fall as we just had. Really proud of their work ethic. They’re buying into everything we’re doing. They want this from within and that makes it really, really neat right now.” To do what the Wildcats have done after losing one of the most decorated golfers in school history – Leonie Bettel, the school’s single-season stroke record holder and three-time winner in 2018-19 – has been nothing short of remarkable. It’s certainly one of the best national stories in college golf this season. Kentucky’s roster has improved from top to bottom, but the injection of talented youth can’t be overlooked. The most decorated signing class in school history – headlined by freshman sensation Jensen Castle, the highest-rated prospect in program history, and Marissa Wenzler, the 2018 Ohio High School Athletic Association state champion – has made a major impact Castle leads the team in stroke average (71.3) and top-20 finishes (four) while Wen- zler has been solid with four starts and three top-20 showings. Their presence has forced everyone to step their games up, but veterans like senior Sarah Shipley (two top-20 showings), junior Rikke Svejgård Nielsen (two top-20 finishes) and sophomore Casey Ott (team-high three top-10 finishes and 18- and 54-hole career lows) showed renewed focus this offseason after signs of success in previous seasons. “Everybody is pushing each other,” Borst said. “With the ending we had last year, the returners have really been pushing each other really hard. They did not want to have a year like we just had. With the freshmen, (assistant coach) Brian May and I have had a lot of conversations with them about what happened last year and what we wanted to do this year. “It was really a good match (with the newcomers and the returners) because as soon as the freshmen got on campus, the returners took them under their wings, said this is who we are, this is what we want to accomplish and what we want to do at Ken- tucky at a competitive level, and what we did last year wasn’t good enough and we need everyone moving in the same direc- tion. It’s really been a group effort and it’s a good balance of returners and freshmen egging each other on.” UK will break for the winter before con- tinuing its season in February with the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. The international trip will be the first of five regular season spring tournaments before postseason play. Women's Golf off to Best Start in Program History 68 @UKFootball By Eric Lindsey UK Athletics Communications and Public Relations Photo b y Elliott Hess, UK Athletics UK Sports Network Television Information TV Affiliates: Ashland/Huntington – WQCW Bowling Green – WBKO Evansville – WFIE Fox Sports Atlantic Fox Sports Ohio Fox Sports South Hazard – WYMT & eYMT Lexington – WKYT & CW Lexington Louisville – WHAS Paducah - WPSD 70 @UKFootballUK Sports Network Radio Information Market Call Letters Frequency Ashland, KY WCMI 92.7 FM / 1340 AM Ashland/Greenup, KY WLGC 105.7 FM Benton, KY WCBL 99.1 FM / 1290 AM Bowling Green, KY WGGC 95.1 FM Burkesville, KY bb only WKYR 107.9 FM Cadiz, KY WKDZ 106.5 FM / 1110 AM Campbellsville, KY WCKQ 104.1 FM Cincinnati WCKY 1530 AM Columbia, KY WAIN 93.5 FM / 1270 AM Corbin, KY WCTT 107.3 FM / 680 AM Dry Ridge, KY WNKR 106.7 FM Elizabethtown, KY WAKY 103.5 FM / 620 AM Flemingsburg, KY WFLE 95.1 FM Grayson, KY WUGO 99.7 FM Greenville, KY bb only WKYA 105.5 FM Hardinsburg, KY WXBC 104.3 FM Harlan, KY WTUK 105.1 FM Hazard, KY WSGS 101.1 FM Henderson, KY WSON 96.5 FM / 860 AM Hopkinsville, KY WHOP 98.7 FM / 1230 AM Jamestown, KY WJRS 104.9 FM Jenkins, KY WIFX 94.3 FM Johnson City, TN WETB 790 AM Lancaster, KY WRNZ 105.1 FM Leitchfield, KY WKHG 104.9 FM Lexington WBUL / WLAP 98.1 FM / 630 AM London, KY WWEL 103.9 FM Louisville WHAS 840 AM Madisonville, KY WKTG 93.9 FM Mayfield, KY WLLE 102.1 FM Maysville, KY WFTM 95.9 FM / 1240 AM Monticello, KY WKYM 101.7 FM Morehead, KY WIVY 96.3 FM Morganfield WMSK 101.3 FM Nashville, TN WPRTHD 102.5 HD Owensboro, KY WBKR / WOMI 92.5 FM / 1490 AM Paducah, KY WKYX 94.3 FM / 570 AM Paintsville, KY WSIP 98.9 FM / 1490 AM Pikeville, KY WDHR / WPKE 93.1 FM / 103.1 FM Pineville, KY WRIL 106.3 FM Prestonsburg, KY WQHY / WDOC 95.5 FM / 1310 AM Providence, KY WWKY 104.9 FM Somerset, KY WSEK 93.9 FM / 910 AM Whitesburg, KY WXKQ / WTCW 103.9 FM / 920 AM Williamsburg, KY WEZJ / WEKX 104.3 FM / 102.7 FM 2019 Schedule Aug. 31 Toledo W, 38-24 Sept. 7 Eastern Michigan W, 38-17 Sept. 14 Florida L, 21-29 Sept. 21 at Mississippi State L, 13-28 Sept. 28 at South Carolina L, 7-24 Oct. 12 Arkansas W, 24-20 Oct. 19 at Georgia L, 0-21 Oct. 26 Missouri 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 Tennessee TBA Nov. 16 at Vanderbilt TBA Nov. 23 UT-Martin TBA Nov. 30 Louisville TBA (Countdown to Kickoff begins 2 hours prior to kickoff} UKHealthCare Mark Stoops Radio (all shows are from 6-7 p.m.) Monday, August 26, 2019 Monday, September 02, 2019 Monday, September 9, 2019 Monday, September 16, 2019 Monday, September 23, 2019 Monday, September 30, 2019 Monday, October 07, 2019 Monday, October 14, 2019 Monday, October 21, 2019 Monday, October 28, 2019 Monday, November 04, 2019 Monday, November 11, 2019 Monday, November 18, 2019 Monday, November 25, 2019 @UKSportsNetwork 71Next >