Alabama’s Kristen Gillman and Lauren Stephenson Begin Curtis Cup Play Friday
6/7/2018 12:37:00 PM | Women's Golf
Tide duo among eight U.S. amateurs to face Great Britain & Ireland squad this weekend
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama sophomore Kristen Gillman and junior Lauren Stephenson are among eight women's amateur golfers who will be members of the United States team that will face Great Britain & Ireland in the 2018 Curtis Cup, June 8-10, at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.
Stephenson and Gillman are currently ranked No. 6 and No. 8, respectively, in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
First held in 1932, the Curtis Cup is a biennial women's amateur competition pitting a team from the United States against a team from Great Britain and Ireland. The USGA's International Team Selection Committee chose the U.S. squad.
Gillman and Stephenson will be the sixth and seventh Crimson Tide women's golfers to compete in the Curtis Cup, joining U.S. selections Emma Talley (2014), Brooke Pancake (2012), Jenny Suh (2006) and Martha Lang (1992) and Great Britain & Ireland pick Stephanie Meadow (2012). Lang also served as the U.S. captain in 1996.
Joining Gillman and Stephenson on this year's Curtis Cup team are current collegiate golfers Mariel Galdiano (UCLA), Jennifer Kupcho (Wake Forest), Andrea Lee (Stanford), Sophia Schubert (Texas) and Lilia Vu (UCLA). High schooler Luci Li (Redwood Shores, Calif.) rounds out the squad. Alabama Sports Hall of Fame member Virginia Derby Grimes is the captain of the 2018 U.S. team.
The Curtis Cup is the first of two national team appearances for the Crimson Tide duo this summer. Gillman and Stephenson will also be members of the U.S. team that will compete in the 2018 Palmer Cup in France in July. The Palmer Cup squad is a combined men's and women's collegiate team and will also include UA men's golfer Davis Riley. Alabama women's assistant coach Susan Rosenstiel is serving as a member of the Palmer Cup coaching staff. The United States Palmer Cup team will be facing a combined men's and women's world team that will include 2018 Tide women's signee Jiwon Jeon on its roster.
Stephenson was the 2018 Golfstat Cup winner for the best scoring average on the season. Her 69.76 average is the lowest in the history of the Golfstat Cup. The Lexington, S.C., native tied for seventh overall at the NCAA Championships and was a first-team WGCA All-American this season. She set a single-season school record in scoring average and posted eight top-three finishes and 11 top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments this year to lead the Tide in both categories.
Gillman finished second on the team in scoring with a 70.55 average and was 39-under par this past season. The Austin, Texas, native had nine top-10 finishes and won her second career tournament in September when she captured individual medalist honors at the Schooner Fall Classic with a UA-record 13-under par performance. Gillman was par or better in 25 of 33 rounds this season.
Friday's opening day coverage of the 2018 Curtis Cup will air on FS1 beginning at 10:30 a.m. CT.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaWGolf, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
