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Razorbacks’ sprints, relays dominate meet in Baton Rouge

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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BATON ROUGE, La. — Competing at the largest meet of the year for LSU, No. 1 Arkansas went to work, posting 12 Top 10 finishes Saturday afternoon.

The 4-x-100-meter relay of Janeek Brown, Kiara Parker, Jada Baylark, and Morgan Burks-Magee combined to run 43.87 trailing only LSU’s “A” squad and the team of LSU Olympians at the meet.

The 100-meters featured three top-10 finishes and the No. 8 time in program history. Jada Baylark finished third at 11.26 followed by Kiara Parker in sixth at 11.40, Janeek Brown in ninth at 11.49, Taliyah Brooks in 12th at 11.52, and Tamara Kuykendall in 13th-place running 11.54. Brooks’ time of 11.52 registers as the No. 8 time in program history.

Brooks also long jumped at the meet, capturing the event title with a best of 6.57m (21′-6.75″).

Brown backed into the blocks for the women’s 100-meter hurdles where she finished in 13.21 (+0.5).

Morgan Burks-Magee finished seventh in the 400-meters posting a season-best of 53.03.

Baylark finished runner-up in the 200-meters with her time of 23.00. rounding out the field for Arkansas in the event were Kiara Parker (23.44), Taliyah Brooks (23.83), Tamara Kuykendall (24.01), in seventh, ninth, and 13th-place. Baylark retained her spot at No. 3 in program history but lowered her time from 23.17 earlier this season.

Sydney Davis, Morgan Burks-Magee, Jada Baylark, and Kiara Parker combined to post a season-best time in the 4-x-400-meter relay crossing the line in 3:35.29.

On the west coast at the Cardinal Classic, Carina Viljoen (4:16.07) and Micah Huckabee (4:33.92) finished fifth and eighth in their respective heats completing the competition weekend for the Razorbacks who competed at a total of four meets over the past three days.

Hogs split doubleheader, but lose series to Auburn

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK

Hogs drop both games in doubleheader against ’Dogs

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Some breaks didn’t go Arkansas’ way on Saturday as Mississippi State completed a three-game sweep, winning both games of the doubleheader, 5-3 and 7-5, at Dudy Noble Field.

It’s the first three-game series sweep that Arkansas has suffered this year and the two losses drop the Razorbacks’ overall record to 28-13 overall and 10-8 in conference play.

Arkansas looked to be on its way to salvaging the final game when it jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning, but could only score two more runs on top of that the rest of the way.

Mississippi State rallied for the second time of the weekend, scoring six runs over the course of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings and ended up with its fourth win in six games.

Sophomore Dominic Fletcher came away as the team’s top hitter on the day, going a combined 4-for-7 (.571) with a run scored and a walk.

Four different players recorded multi-hit games in the first game of the doubleheader, while Fletcher and senior Jared Gates were the only two with two hits or more in game two.

As a team, Arkansas had 13 hits in game one and 10 hits in game two Saturday, its’ third of the last four games with 10 or more hits. This year, the Hogs have totaled 10 or more hits in 24 of 41 contests and are 18-6 in those games.

Game 1 | Mississippi State 5, Arkansas 3 (Box Score)

In the first game of the day, the Hogs and Bulldogs were locked in a low-scoring affair as starting pitchers Kacey Murphy and Ethan Small battled well into the sixth inning with only four runs crossing the plate through the first six innings.

Murphy ended up throwing 6.2 innings with three earned runs allowed, while Small went six innings and just one earned run allowed on six hits with six strikeouts.

It was Murphy’s third-straight start of six or more innings and he has yet to give up more than three earned runs in any appearance this season.

However, the Razorbacks could never fully catch up to the Bulldogs as a single run in the third, a two-run fifth, and a two-run eighth were all they needed to clinch the series, even with a furious late-game rally by the Hogs.

Evan Lee and Eric Cole both smacked solo home runs in the late innings to pull as close as one. Lee’s came in a pinch-hit role in the seventh, his third of the year, while Cole’s was part of a strong ninth-inning stand for his ninth of the year.

In that ninth inning, down three runs, Arkansas was able to send seven batters to the plate, five with two outs starting with Cole’s at-bat. The Hogs even got the bases loaded later in the inning, but were unable to connect on the game-tying hit they needed.

Freshman Casey Martin finished the game 3-for-5, just his second game this year with three or more hits. Heston Kjerstad, Carson Shaddy, and Fletcher all came away with two hits each in the game.

Game 2 | Mississippi State 7, Arkansas 5 (Box Score)

Arkansas jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning of game two and looked to have new life as it tried to win at least one game of the series.

The team took advantage of an MSU error that led to the game’s first run and it was followed by a big two-RBI double from Jared Gates, his fifth double of the year.

Unfortunately, the Hogs were only able to score two more runs over the next eight innings, which gave the Bulldogs an opportunity to scratch their way back in.

The big inning from Mississippi State came in the sixth when it scored four runs on three hits, only one being an extra-base hit, taking the lead for good.

Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Campbell pitched 5.2 innings on Saturday, giving up five earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts.

Campbell held Mississippi State to just two runs over the first five innings, but struggled to get out of the sixth inning as a two-out walk and a wild pitch eventually led to the key four runs that helped MSU take the lead.

Up Next

Arkansas returns home for its next five games starting with a two-game midweek series with Texas Tech on Tuesday at Baum Stadium.

First pitch between the Razorbacks and Red Raiders is set for 6:30 p.m., while game two will be on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Game one will be televised on the SEC Network and game two will be on SEC Network+.

Arkansas captures three event titles at ‘Michael Johnson’

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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WACO, Texas — No. 11 Arkansas finished its busy weekend around the country with a strong showing at the 2018 Michael Johnson Invitational, hosted by Baylor University Saturday afternoon at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.

Erich Sullins got things going in the opening event of the meet, finishing runner-up in the hammer throw with a best of 59.86m (196′-05″). Sullins returned in the discus to post a third-place finish throwing 52.66m (172′-9″).

The hammer throw gave way to the events on the track at the Michael Johnson Invite.

Harrison Schrage ran 10.66 in the morning session of the 100-meters finishing first in the session, and fourth overall combined with the evening run.

In the 200-meters, it was a Razorback sweep as Kenzo Cotton (20.53), Obi Igbokwe (20.66), and Roy Ejiakuekwu (20.88) raced away from the competition to finish 1-2-3. Kevin Harris also competed in the 200-meters running 22.46 taking 18th-place.

Moving up to 400-meters, Jamarco Stephen led the way for Arkansas running a season-best 47.39 for a top-10 finish, snagging ninth-place. Arkansas also finished 11th and 12th as Hunter Woodhall made his season debut running 47.73 right before John Winn ran 47.91.

It was a 1-2 finish in the 800-meters for Kieran Taylor and Chase Pareti. The freshmen duo ran times of 1:51.11 and 1:52.83 – both season-best times. Reese Walters finished 12th in the event running 1:56.82.

Larry Donald posted an all-conditions lifetime best for in the 110-meter hurdles running 13.85 seconds for a second-place finish. Travius Chambers also set a personal-best in the high hurdles running 14.97.

The duo would later return to run the 400-meter hurdles. Chambers again finished with a personal best time running 51.06 for fifth-place while Donald finished 12th at 52.57.

The team of Kevin Harris, Kemar Mowatt, Roy Ejiakuekwu and Kenzo Cotton combined to run 39.07 in the 4-x-100-meter relay for the win.

In the 4-x-400-meter relay, the squad of Jamarco Stephen, Kemar Mowatt, Roy Ejiakuekwu, and Obi Igbokwe carried the baton to the tune of 3:05.48 – a season-best time.

In the invite section of the shot put, Jeff Rogers took fifth with his season-best throw of 16.71m (54′-10″), followed by Sam Kempka in seventh-place with a best of 16.43m (53′-11″) in the competition. Decathlete Gabe Moore finished eighth in the open section of the shot put with a best throw of 14.06m (46′-1.50″).

Brandon Rivera and Rubin Owens finished fourth and fifth, respectively in the high jump. Rivera finished with a best clearance of 2.08m (6′-9.75″), while Rivera cleared 2.03m (6′-8″) on the day.

Laquan Nairn finished eighth in the long jump leaping out to a mark of 7.00m (22′-11.75″). Trae Carey took 11th jumping 6.81m (22′-4.25″).

Alex Springer (56.31m/184′-9″) and Andrew Henn (54.11m/177′-6″) finished third and fifth, respectively, in the javelin throw.

Hogs win two matches, advance to SEC championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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HOOVER, Ala. — Third-ranked Arkansas was on the course for more than 10 hours on Saturday, winning two matches and advancing to the SEC Match Play Championship.

The Razorbacks take on No. 10 South Carolina in the final day of the week-long event.

Action began on Wednesday with three rounds of stroke play with the top eight teams advancing to match play on Saturday.

The field of eight was cut to four with Arkansas advancing with a 3-2 win over Florida in the morning flight. The Razorbacks defeated Alabama, 3-1-1, in the afternoon to move on to the championship on Sunday.

South Carolina entered the day as the No. 1 seed after finishing first after three rounds of stroke play. They defeated Missouri and Georgia to reach the championship.

SEC individual runner-up Maria Fassi picked up two match play wins as did junior Kaylee Benton to lead Arkansas on the day. Alana Uriell and Cara Gorlei each won a match as well.

Inside The Ropes
When: Sunday, April 22, 2018
Time: 7 a.m. CT
Where: Legacy Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club
Who: No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 10 South Carolina
Live Scoring: http://bit.ly/2HnANu4
Watch: The SEC Network – coverage begins at 8 a.m. CT

Semifinals – Arkansas def. Alabama, 3-1-1

The second match of the day saw the conditions and course change during the afternoon. Hot temperatures and relatively no wind gave way to cool and windy conditions with overcast skies as the round turned for the final nine holes.

Fassi was out of the gate first and she battled in a back-and-forth match with her opponent. The players turned all square and would remain even until the 14th hole of the afternoon.

Fassi grabbed the lead on the par-5 as she continued to play well on the long holes. She held on for the first win of the match for the Razorbacks.

Uriell and Benton both picked up wins in their matches to clinch the Razorback victory. Uriell opened fast taking the lead on the third hole of the round.

She would go up by as much as three before getting the 2 & 1 win.

Benton also took an early advantage winning the first hole of the match. She never surrendered the lead in the 3 & 2 win. Gorlei added some drama to the match on the 17th hole of her round.

All square to that point, Gorlei hit her tee shot into the bunker on No. 8. A great sand shot saw the junior hole out and take the lead. She moved on to the 18th hole, but her contest was suspended after the Razorbacks won its third match.

Maria Fassi (Ark.) def. Kristen Gillman (Ala.) 1-up
Cara Gorlei (Ark.) vs. Cheyenne Knight (Ala.) Susp.
Alana Uriell (Ark.) def. Lauren Stephenson (Ala.) 2 & 1
Kaylee Benton (Ark.) def. Lakareber Abe (Ala.) 3 & 2
Angelica Moresco (Ala.) def. Dylan Kim (Ark.) 1 & 3

Quarter Finals – Arkansas def. Florida 3-2

Arkansas opened the day at 7 a.m. from the 10th tee against the Gators. Uriell won the first hole of the day and Arkansas was in a good position as they made the turn with all five Razorbacks leading their matches.

Fassi turned with a three-hole advantage and won her 10th hole to go up four with eight holes to play. She gave a hole back but rallied on No. 6, her 15th hole, winning the hole and the match 4 & 3.

Benton was on Fassi’s heels with a 3 & 2 win. She turned with a one-hole advantage and stretched that to three holes winning Nos. 2 and 3. Benton held on to the lead, winning in 16 holes.

Arkansas lead 2-1 at that point needing just one more match to move on. It was Gorlei who clinched for the Razorbacks winning 2 & 1 in 17 holes.

Gorlei’s opponent hit her tee shot into the bunker on No. 8 (the 18th hole of the round). Gorlei followed with a long shot over a ridge. Her second shot was a 35-foot effort down a ridge to the green.

Gorlei’s opponent conceded the putt, needing to make her own 6-footer to win the hole. She missed, and Gorlei sealed the Razorback win.

Elin Esborn (Fla.) def. Alana Uriell (Ark.) 1-up
Dylan Kim (Ark.) vs. Marta Perez (Fla.) Susp.
Cara Gorlei (Ark.) def. Sierra Brooks (Fla.) 2 & 1
Kaylee Benton (Ark.) def. Addison Baggarly (Fla.) 3 & 2
Maria Fassi (Ark.) def. Taylor Tomlinson (Fla.) 4 & 3

Up Next

The Razorbacks move on to face South Carolina in the final. Ainhoa Olarra battled in a two-hole playoff with Fassi to win the SEC individual title on Friday.

Maria Fassi (Ark.) vs. Anita Uwadia (SC)
Cara Gorlei (Ark.) vs. Marion Veysseyre
Alana Uriell (Ark.) vs. Ana Pelaez
Kaylee Benton (Ark.) vs. Ainhoa Olarra
Dylan Kim (Ark.) vs. Lois Kaye Go (SC)

Arkansas concludes strong run at SEC Championship matches

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After winning three SEC Tournament matches for the first time in program history, Arkansas’ impressive run in the 2018 conference tournament ended Saturday.

In the semifinal match against No. 9 ranked and No. 2 seed Florida, the No. 11 seed Razorbacks tested and took the Gators down to the wire but fell short 4-2 at the Dr. Robert L. Barksdale Tennis Stadium.

“For our fourth intense match in four days at this elite level it was incredible to see our team compete better than we have all season long,” Razorbacks head coach Michael Hegarty said. “This was a championship level match and we give great credit to Florida, who we have tremendous respect for.”

Arkansas’ tournament run this week started with a 4-1 win over No. 14 seed Missouri. A 4-2 victory over No. 17 ranked and No. 6 seed Auburn was followed by a 4-2 win against No. 6 ranked and No. 3 seed South Carolina.

The Gators (18-7, 11-2 SEC) got on the board first Saturday, winning the doubles point by earning victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.

The Razorbacks’ No. 40 ranked pair of Tatum Rice and Ana Oparenovic earned their highest-ranked win of the season at the top spot, a 6-4 decision over the Gators’ No. 13 ranked tandem of Anna Danilina and Victoria Emma.

Arkansas (10-16, 3-10 SEC) quickly leveled the match at 1-1 thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles by Natsuho Arakawa over Victoria Emma.

Florida’s Peggy Porter outlasted Rice at No. 5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, before Mia Jurasic delivered a three-set win of her own at No. 3, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, against No. 90 McCartney Kessler.

The Gators closed out the match and secured the victory with a pair of triumphs, including the clincher at the No. 2 position. Katie Kubicz beat Jackie Carr 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 6, and No. 47 Josie Kuhlman edged out No. 89 Oparenovic 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) at the second spot.

At the clinch, No. 50 Giulia Pairone led 1-0 in the third set against Florida’s No. 14 Danilina after winning a second-set tiebreaker.

Bruce posts NCAA top 20 time in 1,500 meters

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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AZUSA, Calif. — Jack Bruce highlighted action for Arkansas on the west coast as a group of three competed in the 1,500-meters Friday night.

Bruce, who entered the meet with a best time in the event of 3:41.45 from last years John McDonnell Invitational, finished the night with personal best of 3:39.86 – currently No. 16 in the NCAA. Bruce was part of a group of 21 student-athletes that ran below the stadium and meet record of 3:41.17 run by Ross Millington in 2012.

Also in the field for the Razorbacks Friday night were Ethan Moehn (3:45.97) who finished 54th and Colin O’Mara (3:55.90) in 201st-place.

The men’s team will continue to compete this weekend, taking part in the 2018 Michael Johnson Invitational hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas Apr. 21.

The Michael Johnson Invitational will be LIVE streamed by FloTrack.

RamosMata captures Kansas Relays title in pole vault over Hartsell

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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LAWRENCE, Kan. — The 91st Kansas Relays featured a trio of top-three performances from Arkansas, including a Kansas Relays title by Elizabeth Ramos Mata.

Ramos Mata finished the Kansas Relays clearing 3.90m (12′-9.50″), the same height that teammate Morgan Hartsell cleared.

Ramos Mata grabbed the win on jumps clearing her first three bars of the day clean, while Hartsell needed three attempts to clear 3.90m.

Thr 1-2 finish in the pole vault accounted for two of the three top-three finishes on the day for Arkansas. The third came in a third-place finish by Carmen Sitz in the women’s high jump. Sitz took third clearing 1.65m (5′-5″) on her fifth jump of the day.

On the west coast at the Cardinal Classic in Palo Alto, Calif., Arkansas continued to compete on the track.

In the 800-meters, Kailee Sawyer (2:15.35) finished sixth in section three of the event while   Ruth Wiggins (2:13.39) took eighth in section two.

Moving up the ladder of distance disciplines, a trio of Razorbacks closed out the competition day with their run in the 5,000-meters.

A fourth-place finish by Maddy Reed (16:20.38) was followed up by  Rachel Nichwitz (16:33.27) in sixth-place and Abby Gray (16:38.60) in ninth-place.

Arkansas will split competition on Saturday between the Cardinal Classic in Palo Alto, Calif. and the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, La.

Hogs stumble in opener of series at Auburn, falling 11-1

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
AUBURN, Ala. — No. 16 Arkansas lost game one of its series with No. 11 Auburn on Friday night, falling 11-1 in five innings.

With the setback, the Razorbacks drop to 33-10 overall with an 8-8 mark in SEC play.

Up Next

With Sunday’s forecast of inclement weather, the series will conclude Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with approximately 30 minutes between games.

Both games will be streamed live on SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app. Arkansas is back home April 28-30 to host Ole Miss at Bogle Park.

FINAL: #11/13 Auburn 11, #16 Arkansas 1 (5 inn.) | Box Score

Down to its final three outs, the Razorbacks put together their first sustained rally of the game beginning with consecutive, one-out hits by seniors A.J. Belans and Loren Krzysko, respectively.

After a walk to Haydi Bugarin, the bases were loaded for freshman Hannah McEwen who delivered her 44th RBI of the year with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Pinch runner Keely Edwards scored on the play.

With Friday’s effort, McEwen extends her freshman-class mark and is now tied with Miranda Dixon for sixth on the program’s single-season RBI list.

The San Diego native also had a single in the third inning to tie senior Autumn Buczek for the team lead in hits.

Single-Season RBI Leaders
1. 50 – Sandra Smith (2010)
2. 49 – Nicole Schroeder (2017)
3. 47 – Miranda Dixon (2008)
4. 46 – Kasey Fagan (2014)
5. 45 – Sandra Smith (2008)
6. 44 – Miranda Dixon (2010) / Hannah McEwen (2018)

After a quiet first inning for both offenses, Auburn (37-10, 10-8 SEC) broke through with a seven-run second to take control of Friday’s opener.

The home team had just three hits in the frame but took advantage of six walks given up by starter Mary Haff and Caroline Hedgcock.

Auburn added four runs over the next two innings on its way to the run-rule win.

Razorbacks can’t hold off late Mississippi State rally

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Even after jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Arkansas couldn’t hold off a late rally by Mississippi State and lost, 7-6, in the series opener at Dudy Noble Field.

The Hogs built that lead off a grand slam by Eric Cole, but couldn’t get a baserunner over the final four innings.

The loss drops Arkansas’ overall record to 28-11 and is just it’s second loss in its last 11 games.

In conference play, the Hogs are now 10-6 and still leading by a half-game in the SEC West over surging LSU.

Mississippi State upped its record to 20-19 overall and 6-10 in league play.

Cole’s grand slam capped a four-run, four-hit second inning that had the Hogs cruising early over the Bulldogs. They added a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that led to the eventual early exit for MSU starting pitcher Konnor Pilkington.

However, that was the end of Arkansas’ offense for the rest of the game as Bulldog reliever J.P. France retired 12-straight batters to end the game, striking out nine.

As for Cole, his slam was Arkansas’ second grand slam of the season, joining sophomore Jordan McFarland as the only Razorbacks to hit a grand slam this year.

He finished the game 1-for-4 with the grand slam as his only hit. He now has eight home runs on the year and is one of four Hogs with eight or more home runs this season.

Blaine Knight was sharp through his 5.2 innings of work, but gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning before being relieved by sophomore Matt Cronin four batters later.

Knight finished with the no decision and remains undefeated this season  It’s only his fourth in 10 starts that Knight hasn’t gone six innings or more and he’s struck out four or more in all 10 his outings this year.

Cronin ended up taking the loss, giving up three earned runs over two innings, striking out five, but only giving up one hit.

Cronin struck out the first four batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the eighth when he walked the first two batters in the inning before and then allowed a two-out two RBI single to Jordan Westburg, which tied the game at 5-5.

Offensively for the Hogs, Heston Kjerstad, Grant Koch, and Jax Biggers all turned in two-hit games, but only Cole and Dominic Fletcher drove in runs.

Four of Arkansas’ five runs came off Cole’s grand slam, while Fletcher had the sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The four RBIs are a career-high for Cole and his eighth multi-RBI game of the season.

Up Next

Arkansas and Mississippi State will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field to complete the series due to severe weather that is forecast for the Starkville area on Sunday.

Both games of the doubleheader will be nine innings and both games will be televised on SEC Network+.

First pitch on Saturday is set for noon and the second game will start approximately 45 minutes at the conclusion of the first game.

Fassi just short of individual title in playoff at SEC Championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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HOOVER, Ala. — Fifty-four holes wasn’t enough to decide the individual winner of the 2018 SEC Women’s Golf Championship as Arkansas junior Maria Fassi forced a playoff in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday.

Fassi and South Carolina’s Ainhoa Olarra were neck-and-neck playing together in the final group on the Legacy Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club.

They remained tied through 19 greens before Olarra was able to take advantage of an errant tee shot by Fassi to win on the second playoff hole.

The third-ranked Razorbacks finished third in the stroke play portion of the championship. They move on to face Florida in the 3 seed-6 seed contest in the first round of match play action on Saturday morning beginning at 7 a.m.

The first playoff hole was a nail-biter with Fassi out-driving Olarra by 50 yards off the tee. She dropped her second shot to 20 feet from the pin, slightly closer than her opponent.

Her first putt attempt picked up speed and slid passed the hole about four feet. Olarra two-putted meaning Fassi would have to make the long putt to force another playoff hole.

And she did.

The players and the growing gallery of fans moved across the cart path to the No. 9 tee box for the second playoff hole.

Olarra hit a good tee shot to the middle of the fairway but Fassi’s first attempt pulled to the left. The ball struck a large drainage area filled with flat stones and bounced further away into the thick pine needle mulch.

After a long look at the shot, Fassi made her move but her ball came out low and sailed over the green into a bunker. She flew her third shot up onto the green leaving herself about eight feet to the pin.

She made the long putt counting a four putting pressure on Olarra but the Gamecock made her eight-footer for birdie and the win.

From Maria Fassi

“I love the adrenaline and the shaky hands. I hit the putt a little too hard (on the first playoff hole) and had a four-footer coming back. The hole looks awfully tiny with a four-foot putt to force another playoff hole. I was to the left on the second (playoff) hole and she (Ainhoe Olarra) hit a good tee shot. I gave it my best effort, but it went her way.”

From Shauna Taylor

“I’m really proud of the way our team fought the last two days. Getting off to a slow start put us behind big early but we played some fantastic golf these last two days. It was fun to watch the players rebound and play well.

“Standing with Maria on the 18th fairway, we knew that if we made eagle we would win, and a birdie would probably tie. Fortunately, she has a lot of length and we were able to put together a plan, so Maria could hit a wedge in there to about 30 feet. It’s a pretty tough golf shot but she did an amazing job of execution under those conditions. I thought she had a great opportunity on the first playoff hole and obviously drove it a little funky on the second hole. She made an amazing recovery and a good up-and-down to put a lot of pressure on Ainhoe (Olarrra) who made an eight-footer to birdie and get the win.

“Overall, it’s pretty incredible to have three players in top 15 at the SEC Championship. I’m really proud of their efforts. I’m excited for our matches tomorrow. I think we match up with Florida really well. Alana (Uriell) and Dylan (Kim) lead us out of the gate with Cara (Gorlei) and Kaylee (Benton) in the middle followed by Maria (Fassi) in the anchor. We’re in a good spot and can’t wait to get out and tee it up for match play.”

Stroke Play
No. 10 South Carolina was first after three rounds of stroke play leading the field with a 3-over 867. Second-ranked Alabama posted an 872 followed by No. 3 Arkansas with 875. The rest of the top-8 include No. 44 Georgia (895), No. 20 Auburn (896), No. 13 Florida (896), No. 24 Vanderbilt (899) and Missouri (907).

Fassi finished regulation play with a 4-under 209 (70–70–69). Razorback junior Dylan Kim picked up a top-5 finish, tying for fourth place overall with a 2-over 216 (70–73–73) and senior Alana Uriell rallied from a slow start to tie for 15th overall with a 221 (79–72–70).

It is the first time in program history Arkansas has placed two players in the top-5 and the first time the Razorbacks have had three players finish in the top-15 at the league championship.

Juniors Cara Gorlei and Kaylee Benton also finished strong. Gorlei was nine shots better in her final round and finished 46th shooting 231 (80–80–71). Benton tied for 49th but dropped seven shots off her round one score to shoot 233 (81–78–74).

Razorback Lineup

PLACE PLAYER SCORE TO PAR
T1 Maria Fassi (1) 70–70–69—209 -4
T4 Dylan Kim (3) 70–73–73—216 +2
T15 Alana Uriell (2) 79–72–70—221 +7
46 Cara Gorlei (5) 80–80–71—231 +17
T49 Kaylee Benton (4) 81–78–74—233 +19


Match Play

The quarterfinal matches will feature No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 Missouri, No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 6 Florida and No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 5 Auburn. Play begins at 7 a.m. CT on Saturday the semifinals to follow later in the day.

The 2018 event will mark the first in which the championship will extend to five days, with match play on Saturday and Sunday. The championship match on Sunday, April 22 will also be televised live on SEC Network.

No. 3 Seed Arkansas vs. No. 6 Seed Florida
Alana Uriell (Arkansas) vs. Elin Esborn (Florida)
Dylan Kim (Arkansas) vs. Marta Perez (Florida)
Cara Gorlei (Arkansas) vs. Sierra Brooks (Florida)
Kaylee Benton (Arkansas) vs. Addison Baggarly (Florida)
Maria Fassi (Arkansas) vs. Taylor Tomlinson (Florida)

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