Alabama’s Kristen Gillman and Lauren Stephenson Named to 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup Team

Alabama women’s golfers Kristen Gillman and Lauren Stephenson are among eight women’s amateur golfers named to the United States 2018 Curtis Cup team, the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced Tuesday.

Stephenson and Gillman are currently ranked No. 7 and No. 12, respectively, in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

“It is a life-long goal for any female golfer to be selected to the Curtis Cup team and have the opportunity to represent the United States of America,” Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. “Kristen and Lauren have accomplished a lot in college and amateur golf, but this will be the thrill of lifetime, according to our former players who have made the team in the past. We are proud and honored that Lauren and Kristen have been selected. I am positive that they will be great representatives of the United States of America and The University of Alabama.”

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 selected the U.S. squad.

Gillman and Stephenson will be the fifth and sixth UA women’s golfers to compete in the Curtis Cup, joining U.S. selections Emma Talley (2014), Brooke Pancake (2012) and Martha Lang (1992) and Great Britain & Ireland pick Stephanie Meadow (2012). Lang also served as the U.S. captain in 1996.

The 2018 Curtis Cup will take place June 8-10 at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.

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.

This is the second national team selection for the Crimson Tide duo. In March, the pair was named to the U.S. team that will compete in the 2018 Palmer Cup in France in July.

Stephenson leads the Tide with a 69.35 scoring average and is a cumulative 52-under par for the season entering this week’s SEC Championships. The Lexington, S.C., native has seven top-three finishes and two tournament championships in eight outings in 2017-18. The junior has also posted 19 rounds of par or better and 15 rounds in the 60s in 23 rounds played this season.

Gillman is second on the team in scoring with a 70.48 average and is 25-under par this season. The sophomore has six top-10 finishes this season 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. The Austin, Texas, native has been under par in 17 of 23 rounds this season.