When the Kansas women’s golf team hits the road on Friday for the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate tournament in Michigan, they’ll do so with a shiny No. 21 ranking next to their name.
The senior-laden Jayhawks first found out about the ranking when head coach Lindsay Kuhle told them about it. Then, they started to see it posted on KU’s social media accounts and that’s when it really hit them.
“I feel like it was a surprise and it (also) was expected,” senior Lily Hirst told R1S1 Sports. “We’ve put in so much work and we feel like we deserve this. We (want to) show that we deserve an even (better) ranking, and we’re all striving to get better.”
The Jayhawks’ ranking comes courtesy of the Golf Channel, which has had the poll since 2018. This marks KU’s debut in the poll, which speaks to both the state of the program and the belief this veteran group has in what it’s capable of achieving this season.
The Jayhawks return eight letter winners from last year’s lineup, including four key seniors in Hirst, Lauren Clark, Johanna Ebner and Jordan Rothman.
“Our confidence is here,” Ebner told R1S1 Sports. “We all had a great summer, and being ranked 21st is an honor and just shows that Kansas women’s golf is really good. We’re playing really well and want to show that this season. We have worked our way here and we have earned it.”
Sophomore Lyla Louderbaugh, who praised the KU upperclassmen for leading the program to such exciting heights, said the ranking was both deserved and appreciated.
“Coach told us first, and then we saw the posts,” she said. “That was really cool to see. I feel like all of us were proud just to have such a high ranking and just to see that all the work we’ve put in has paid off and it shows.”
The goal now, the Jayhawks said, is to back it up and proven the voters right.
“We’re gonna fight to prove ourselves and (to prove) that Kansas is a great team,” Hirst said. “It’s really awesome. We all had a really good summer, and the Golf Channel has (realized) that the work we put in this summer has made a difference and we’re a team that people are gonna be scared of kind of.”
The KU volleyball team, which sits at No. 13 in the AVCA poll, had similar thoughts about its preseason ranking. And Ray Bechard’s team raced out to a 3-0 start with wins over South Carolina, Duke and Colgate last weekend.
The volleyball program will host its home opener at 7 p.m. Wednesday night against Wichita State.
The KU women’s golf will join the KU men’s team in Grand Haven, Michigan next week for their debut in the Folds of Honor Collegiate tourney. The men have played here before, but the new event and the national ranking have the KU women entering the tournament and the season with huge hopes and big visions of what the 2024-25 season can be.
According to Ebner, one thing’s certain, no matter where the Jayhawks are or aren’t ranked.
“We’re gonna be prepared,” Ebner said. “We all work really hard. We have a strong lineup. And we’re so excited to be back, competing against really good teams.”
The Fields of Honor Collegiate will run Monday, Sept. 9 through Wednesday, Sept. 11 at American Dunes Golf Club.
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