PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The Arkansas women’s golf team is set to open the 17th fall season under head coach Shauna Taylor, as the Hogs will play at the Carmel Cup at the prestigious Pebble Beach Golf Links. This marks the second year Arkansas will commence its season at the Carmel Cup and will do so against the same eight-team field as last season, half of which represent the SEC.
Tournament play will begin on Friday, Sept. 1 and run into Sunday, Sept. 3. The format will consist of 18 holes each day, 54 total. The Carmel Cup runs on a six-count-five format, meaning five of the six Hogs in the lineup will count toward the team’s score each day.
The field is stacked with seven top 40 teams from last year’s Golfweek final poll, as well as three inside the top 10. Six of the eight teams in this tournament qualified for the NCAA Championship, with Stanford and Texas A&M making it to the semifinals of match play.
In the first lineup of the season, Maria José Marin will play in the No. 1 spot. Ranked just outside the top 30 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, José Marin became the first Latin American at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur to make the cut to play at the prestigious Augusta National. The freshman out of Cali, Colombia won the 2023 Mexican Women’s Amateur, was named the 2021 and 2022 South American Girls Junior Champion and won the individual medal in the XXI Juegos Suramericanos Paraguay played with professionals from 15 different countries, among other accolades.
Reagan Zibilski highlights the No. 2 spot this weekend. The Springfield, Missouri native is coming off a successful freshman season, in which she made seven tournament appearances, holding a 74.80 scoring average. She ended her rookie campaign on a high note by tying for 14th with a 3-over 219, including a career-low 69 in the third round at the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regionals. This past summer, Zibilski placed third at the Southwestern Amateur in Arizona with an 11-under 277, highlighted by a 64 in the first round.
Miriam Ayora is coming off her junior year, in which she led the Hogs with the lowest scoring average of 73.21, 334 pars and tied for a team’s best 10 rounds at par or under. Her scores counted in all but one round for a 96.6 counting percentage. Playing at the No. 3 spot in the lineup, Ayora played in all 10 tournaments last season with two top 10 showings and a career-low 209 at the MountainView Collegiate to win SEC Golfer of the Week. Ayora won the 2023 Campionat de Catalunya Absolut and tied for third at the 2023 Campeonato de España Amateur, both last summer.
One of three fifth years on the team, Julia Gregg will play in the No. 4 spot of the lineup. Gregg played in seven tournaments last season, logging a 75.15 scoring average. Last season, the Texan tied for ninth at the Blessings Collegiate with a 6-over 222 with a season-high 11 birdies and finished the year in a tie for 19th at the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional with a 5-over 221. She is coming into this weekend having played in 95 career rounds and sits No. 11 in career birdies (248), as well as 12th in career scoring average (74.32) and par or better rounds (28) in the record book.
Ela Anacona, another fifth year on the squad, is going into the first tournament of 2023-24 with 81 career rounds played. She appeared in five tournaments last season, averaging a 75.23 stroke average and played in last year’s Carmel Cup where she tied for 22nd. Anacona logged a season-high 10 birdies at the MountainView Collegiate and made the lineup for the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional. Coming into this season, Anacona is sixth in career eagles (5), 11th in career scoring average (74.14) and 15th in par or better rounds (25).
Kajal Mistry has played the most golf with 107 career rounds played going into her first tournament of her fifth year. Last season, Mistry played in all 10 tournaments, leading the squad with 83 birdies, three rounds in the 60s and was tied for the most rounds at par or under with 10. She ended her senior season on a positive note with her second fifth-place showing of the season with an even 216 behind 14 birdies at the Palm Beach Gardens Regional. Mistry is entering this season sitting sixth in career birdies (311), ninth in career scoring average (73.79) and 10th in par or better rounds (36).
ARKANSAS LINEUP
1. Maria José Marin
2. Reagan Zibilski
3. Miriam Ayora
4. Julia Gregg
5. Ela Anacona
6. Kajal Mistry
COMPETING TEAMS (FINAL GOLFWEEK 2023)
1.Arkansas (36)
2. Mississippi State (6)
3. Oklahoma
4. Oklahoma State (18)
5. Stanford (1)
6. Texas A&M (5)
7. Texas Tech (32)
8. Vanderbilt (20)
COURSE
Pebble Beach Golf Links – Pebble Beach, Calif. – Par 72 – 6,156 yards
TEE TIMES, CENTRAL TIME (HOLE 1)
9:44 a.m. – Kajal Mistry
10 a.m. – Ela Anacona
10:08 a.m. – Julia Gregg
10:16 a.m. – Miriam Ayora
10:32 a.m. – Reagan Zibilski
10:40 a.m. – Maria José Marin
LIVE SCORING
UP NEXT
The Hogs will return home to host the annual Blessings Collegiate Invitational presented by Tyson Foods from Monday, Oct. 2 to Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the Blessings Golf Club. Admission is free for spectators and coverage of the event will be carried on the Golf Channel.
MORE INFORMATION
Keep up with all of the latest news and information and get behind the scenes looks into our program on our social media accounts. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWGolf and check out our Facebook page “Razorback Women’s Golf.” Stats, news and player information can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.