University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Championship
Vols Struggle To Gain Ground At SEC
April 21, 2013 | Men's Golf
April 21, 2013
SEC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- On Saturday, Tennessee's struggles continued. The Vols improved upon their first round score by carding a 293. However, the team remains in the bottom half of the standings in a tie for 12th place. UT heads into the SEC Championship's final day with a score card of 299-293--592 (+32).
So far, it has been an underclassmen party for Tennessee at the SEC Championship. The Vols have been led by the stellar play of their two freshmen. All-SEC Freshman candidate Oliver Goss remains the Vols biggest weapon as he finished Saturday in a tie for 25th after carding a 72-73--145 (+5).
The emergence of freshman Chad Merzbacher has been a welcomed sight for head coach Jim Kelson. Merzbacher is tied for 39th after carding a two day score of 75-73-148 (+8). After only competing in two team contests all year, Merzbacher has made the most of his opportunity. On Saturday, he played consistent golf, hitting one birdie and only four bogeys.
The Vols saw contributions from senior Rick Lamb who bounced back from a rough first round to card a 73, bringing his two day total to 78-73--151 (+11). Jay Vandeventer and Thomas Dunne also stepped up for Tennessee by each registering a 74 (+4) on the second round. Currently, Vandeventer sits in a tie for 47th while Lamb and Dunne are in a three way tie for 58th.
No. 30 South Carolina leads the team play after carding a two day score of 279-276--555 (-5) and lead second place Alabama by three strokes. Additionally, South Carolina sophomore Caleb Sturgeon leads the individual play after carding a 65-67--132 (-8).
On Sunday, Tennessee will tee off at 8:50 a.m. ET from the 10th hole. The Vols will be grouped with Florida and LSU.
The Vols last won the SEC Championship in 2007.
Volunteer fans can keep up with the team by following @Vol_Golf on Twitter or following the live scoring on Golfstat.com or on the SEC Scoring Page.
| TEAM SCORES (Through Two Rounds) | ||
| 1. | #30 South Carolina | 279-276--555 (-5) |
| 2. | #2 Alabama | 283-275--558 (-2) |
| 3. | #19 Auburn | 275-289--564 (+4) |
| 4. | #21 Texas A&M | 285-281--566 (+6) |
| 5. | #13 Georgia | 281-289--570 (+10) |
| 6. | #25 Mississippi State | 286-286--572 (+12) |
| T-7. | #36 Vanderbilt | 295-282--577 (+17) |
| T-7. | #14 Arkansas | 297-280--577 (+17) |
| 9. | #32 Missouri | 292-290--582 (+22) |
| 10. | #15 LSU | 288-296--584 (+24) |
| 11. | #9 Florida | 301-289--590 (+30) |
| T-12. | #23 TENNESSEE | 299-293--592 (+32) |
| T-12. | Ole Miss | 297-295--592 (+32) |
| 14. | #50 Kentucky | 291-302--593 (+33) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Through Two Rounds) | ||
| 1. | Caleb Sturgeon, South Carolina | 65-67--132 (-8) |
| T-2. | Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas | 69-67--136 (-4) |
| T-2. | Chad Ramey, Mississippi State | 69-67--136 (-4) |
| T-2. | Cory Whitsett, Alabama | 69-67--136 (-4) |
| UT SCORES (Through Two Rounds) | ||
| T-25. | Oliver Goss | 72-73--145 (+5) |
| T-39. | Chad Merzbacher | 75-73--148 (+8) |
| T-47. | Jay Vandeventer | 75-74--149 (+9) |
| T-58. | Rick Lamb | 78-73--151 (+11) |
| T-58. | Thomas Dunne | 77-74--151 (+11) |
