University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Championship
Lady Vols Card Fourth at SEC Championships
April 19, 2015 | Women's Golf
FINAL RESULTS
HOOVER, Ala. -- The No. 14 Lady Vols carded a fourth place finish at the 2015 SEC Women's Golf Championship at the Greystone Golf & Country Club. Tennessee shot a final round of 294 with Lucia Polo leading the effort with a two-under par performance.
The fourth place finish is the best team effort at the tournament since Tennessee earned fourth place during the 2008-09 season. This also marked the seventh top-five finish of the season for the team.
"Fourth place is a good finish for us at the SEC Championship," head coach Judi Pavon said "The field is so strong so to finish near the top is really good. For the most part we played really well this week. We made a lot of birdies. Again, we made a few mistakes out there today but the three teams ahead of us played so well today. It really was a good tournament for us."
Texas A&M earned the win shooting 13-under par over the three days. South Carolina was at one point within two shots of gaining the lead but finished in second place. Vanderbilt finished in third.
Individually, Lucia Polo led the Lady Vols to finish in a seventh place tie. She carded rounds of 71, 73 and 70 for a total of 214. Her combined total ties for her career low score after 54 holes.
"Lucia played really well," Pavon said. "She carried her performance from last week into this week. She made a lot of putts and birdie putts, which isn't something we had really seen all season, so that was really good to see her hard work play off."
Anna Newell shot another round under par with a score of 72. With her first two rounds of 73 and 70, she combined for 215. Newell finished in a tie for 10th place.
In the final round, senior AJ Newell counted her first score of the tournament with a 74. She tallied a total of 231 with rounds of 80, 77 and 74 for a 50th place tie.
Sophomore sisters Emmie and Hannah Pietila both carded final rounds of 77. Emma Pietila combined for 224, which brought her into a tie for 33rd place. Hannah Pietila finished in a 42nd place tie with a total of 227.
"Overall everyone contributed this week," Pavon said. "Everyone had a round that helped and counted. Anna had another top-10 finish which is great for her as a freshman, and she's been so consistent for us."
Next up, Tennessee will await the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships selection show on Monday, April 27. The selection show will air live on the Golf Channel from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET.
"I always try to guess where we will end up, and sometimes get it right, but I'll wait for the rankings to come out," Pavon said. "Regionals will be held at four different sites, so it's a new format. We'll be excited to find out where we go. We have two weeks to practice and really get things ready."
For continued coverage of Tennessee women's golf, follow the team on Twitter @LadyVol_Golf, at Facebook.com/LadyVolGolf or visit UTSports.com.
| TEAM SCORES | ||
| 1. | Texas A&M | 293-277-281--851 (-13) |
| 2. | South Carolina | 299-280-284--863 (-1) |
| 3. | Vanderbilt | 293-292-282--867 (+3) |
| 4. | Tennessee | 293-291-294--878 (+14) |
| 5. | Alabama | 300-288-296--884 (+20) |
| 6. | Florida | 299-295-292--886 (+22) |
| 7. | LSU | 299-293-297--889 (+25) |
| 8. | Arkansas | 300-293-298--891 (+27) |
| 9. | Auburn | 307-295-290--892 (+28) |
| 10. | Georgia | 306-289-298--893 (+29) |
| 11. | Kentucky | 307-297-290--894 (+30) |
| 12. | Mississippi State | 308-291-298--897 (+33) |
| 13. | Missouri | 307-302-306--915 (+51) |
| 14. | Mississippi | 310-307-308--925 (+61) |
| UT SCORES | ||
| T-7. | Lucia Polo | 71-73-70--214 (-2) |
| T-10. | Anna Newell | 73-70-73--216 (E) |
| T-33. | Emmie Pietila | 74-73-77--224 (+8) |
| T-42. | Hannah Pietila | 75-75-77--227 (+11) |
| T-54. | AJ Newell | 80-77-74--231 (+15) |
