University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
M&F Bank Rebel Intercollegiate
Career Bests Push Lady Vols to Finish 6th
April 05, 2014 | Women's Golf
April 5, 2014
Oxford, Miss. - The Tennessee women's golf team got back on track Saturday at the Rebel Intercollegiate as it finished in sixth place. It was the Lady Vols' best finish since winning February's Lady Bulldog Individual. After a grueling 36-hole day, UT finished with a total of 881 (+17) that included 12 final round birdies.
"I'm proud of the way we competed this weekend, especially the final round today," head coach Judi Pavon said. "It's great to see everyone on the team have at least two good rounds. We are gaining some much needed confidence."
The Lady Vols were fueled by career bests from freshman Hannah Pietila and junior Daeun Song.
"Hannah had a really good tournament and Daeun had the best finish of her career plus a great bogey-free round this afternoon," Pavon said.
Pietila led the Lady Vols by recording the first top-10 finish of her career. The Michigan native finished tied for 9th place with a 218 (+2). Pietila carded ten total birdies and an eagle over 54-holes.
"I hit the ball pretty good today," Pietila said. "I had a few unwanted 3-putts but overall it was a good day... really fun day."
Song had a trio of career bests this weekend at the Ole Miss Golf Course. The Korea native finished tied for 16th place (career best), carded a total of 220 (+4) (career low) and recorded an error free final round of 71 (-1) (career low) that included no bogeys.
Senior Chessey Thomas also tied for 16th place, marking her fourth top-20 finish of the season. Thomas carded a final total of 220 (+4), which was highlighted by two rounds of 73 (+1).
Freshman Lucia Polo finished tied for 39th with a total of 225 (+9) while junior Mason Chen finished tied for 46th with a total of 226 (+10). Chen sank a hole-in-one on Thursday during the Ole Miss College Am.
Returning from a back injury, Newell was held out of the final round due to coach's decision as to not aggravate her back.
The Rebel Intercollegiate marked the end of the Tennessee regular season. Up next for the Lady Vols will be the 2014 SEC Championship in Birmingham, Ala., on April 18-20.
For a view of the full leaderboard, CLICK HERE
Volunteer fans can continue to keep up with the team by following @LadyVol_Golf on Twitter.
| TEAM SCORES (Final) | ||
| 1. | GRU Augusta | 286-295-290--871 (+7) |
| 2. | Kennesaw State | 294-297-283--874 (+10) |
| T-3. | Tulane | 294-296-286--876 (+12) |
| T-3. | Texas State | 293-291-292--876 (+12) |
| 5. | ETSU | 292-292-296--880 (+16) |
| 6. | Tennessee | 296-297-288--881 (+17) |
| 7. | Kentucky | 296-296-291--883 (+19) |
| 8. | Harvard | 294-297-294--885 (+21) |
| 9. | Furman | 296-301-293--890 (+26) |
| T-10. | Ole Miss | 301-302-289--892 (+28) |
| T-10. | Coastal Carolina | 292-308-292--892 (+28) |
| 12. | Samford | 301-304-291--896 (+32) |
| T-13. | Notre Dame | 303-304-297--904 (+40) |
| T-13. | Southern Miss | 305-302-297--904 (+40) |
| 15. | South Florida | 305-305-300--910 (+46) |
| T-16. | Colorado State | 318-309-304--931 (+67) |
| T-16. | Murray State | 313-312-306--931 (+67) |
| 18. | Memphis | 317-307-308--932 (+68) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Final) | ||
| 1. | Jessica Haigwood, GRU Augusta | 71-70-69--210 (-6) |
| 2. | Brandi Rodriguez, Southern Miss | 70-71-71--212 (-4) |
| 3. | Emily Penttila, Tulane | 71-73-70--214 (-2) |
| UT SCORES (Final) | ||
| T-9. | Hannah Pietila | 70-76-72--218 (+2) |
| T-16. | Chessey Thomas | 73-74-73--220 (+4) |
| T-16. | Daeun Song | 74-75-71--220 (+4) |
| T-39. | Lucia Polo | 79-74-72--225 (+9) |
| T-46. | Mason Chen | 79-74-73--226 (+10) |
| *96. | AJ Newell | 79-78-W-W |
