Joshua ClaytonThe Ole Miss women’s golf team’s historic season was brought to an end after a finishing with a tie for 14th at the end of three rounds of stroke play.
The Rebels finished with a 926 as a team in the tournament before play was suspended due to darkness at Blessing Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Kennedy Swann was the top finisher for the Rebels finishing with a tie for 23rd, shooting a 7-over 226 over the tournament. Conner Beth Ball finished tied for 51st with a 231.
“We had a phenomenal spring where we won the SEC Championship and finished top 15 at the National Championship,” head coach Kory Henkes said after the tournament. “We’re really pleased with how we finished this year and we’ll us this as motivation heading into next season”
The Rebels certainly have a good team skeleton head into next season with most of their core coming back next season. The run to the NCAA Championship this year was fueled by underclassmen like Macy Somoskey, Ellen Hutchinson-Kay, Julia Johnson and Ball. If the trajectory of their progress continues into the fall, this squad could make postseason golf a habit for Ole Miss in the next few years.
“It’s always a good feeling when you have everyone returning,” Henkes said. “This group really meshes well together. This biggest thing is they have so much respect for each other. We’re excited to have all six back next year with the addition of a couple talented freshman.”
Among those freshmen expected to contribute for the Rebels this fall are Andrea Lignell and Chiara Tamburlini, who both signed before the spring semester.
Lignell is a standout from Gothenburg, Sweden who was part of the junior national team that finished with the bronze at the European Girls Team Championship. She’ll join fellow Swedish Rebels Pi-Lillebi Hermansson and Hutchinson-Kay on the roster.
Tamburlini, a native of Saint Gallen, Switzerland, also competed in the European Girls Team Championship with the Swiss national team and won the Austrian International Amatuer with a 6-under 210.
Henkes and assistant coach Zack Byrd have a lot to be excited about in the next year with an experienced squad led by Kennedy Swann.
