University of Tennessee Athletics
Wednesday, April 18
Birmingham, Ala.
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SEC Championship
Whiston Leads UT in First Round of SEC Championship
April 18, 2018 | Women's Golf
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Tennessee wrapped up round one of the 2018 SEC Championship in 11th place with a score of 310 on Wednesday. The Volunteers, who were led by freshman Waverly Whiston, are just 11 strokes out of the top five.
"Today wasn't quite what we wanted, but we have a lot of experience," Head Coach Judi Pavon said. "Anna and Blakesly have played this course several times and played well, so I expect them to step up and play better for us tomorrow and lead us as the seniors. We're looking forward to moving up on the leaderboard a little bit."
One of the first teams in the clubhouse on Wednesday, UT boasts two seniors, Anna Newell and Blakesly Warren, who have accumulated 234 rounds of golf combined over their careers, including 43 rounds of postseason play.
Newell, a four-year starter for the Lady Vols, shot 5-over (77) in the first round to tie for 32nd place. Just three strokes behind, Warren carded 8-over (80). The Chattanooga, Tenn., native has been a constant in Tennessee's lineup since her sophomore season and enters Thursday's second round tied for 52nd place.
Following in the seniors' footsteps, sophomore Micheala Williams is playing in her second SEC Championship. Williams shot 88 on Wednesday to place 68th. One year ago, the Alabama native carded three birdies over her final four holes to move up into a tie for seventh place at the 2017 SEC Championship.
In her debut season on Rocky Top, freshman Waverly Whiston has started in all of Tennessee's tournaments.
"Waverly had a really good day today. She had an eight on a hole in the front nine but besides that, played very good golf," Pavon said.
The California native shot 2-over in her first SEC Championship to lead the Big Orange. She enters the second day of play tied for 13th place.
"I was really pumped. I was so excited last night I couldn't go to sleep," Whiston said. "It was definitely really exciting and it was better than I thought it would be. I just tried to stay relaxed out there. I knew I was nervous, but I knew I just had to release the tension from my shoulders and play my own game."
Ariana Macioce is also making her postseason debut. The junior transfer shot back-to-back birdies on the front nine and finished with a score of 79 on Wednesday.
"They were both pretty nervous and excited about playing in their first SEC Championship. Both of them got off to a pretty good start. Ari had a couple three-putts but she hit the ball pretty well. I think she can make up some ground tomorrow," Pavon said.
In the team standings, No. 2 Alabama leads the field after shooting 2-under (286). No. 10 South Carolina sits in second with a score of 3-over (291) and No. 24 Vanderbilt is in third (+8, 296). Alabama's Kristen Gillman, the seventh-ranked player in the country, leads the individual leaderboard with a 3-under 69.
"I just think we all need to get out there and really focus and really grind out. We just need to remember that each round counts. Today we didn't have a good day, so we need to bounce back for tomorrow," Whiston said.
Round Two Tee Times (From Hole 10)
Top Three Team Scores
"Today wasn't quite what we wanted, but we have a lot of experience," Head Coach Judi Pavon said. "Anna and Blakesly have played this course several times and played well, so I expect them to step up and play better for us tomorrow and lead us as the seniors. We're looking forward to moving up on the leaderboard a little bit."
One of the first teams in the clubhouse on Wednesday, UT boasts two seniors, Anna Newell and Blakesly Warren, who have accumulated 234 rounds of golf combined over their careers, including 43 rounds of postseason play.
Newell, a four-year starter for the Lady Vols, shot 5-over (77) in the first round to tie for 32nd place. Just three strokes behind, Warren carded 8-over (80). The Chattanooga, Tenn., native has been a constant in Tennessee's lineup since her sophomore season and enters Thursday's second round tied for 52nd place.
Following in the seniors' footsteps, sophomore Micheala Williams is playing in her second SEC Championship. Williams shot 88 on Wednesday to place 68th. One year ago, the Alabama native carded three birdies over her final four holes to move up into a tie for seventh place at the 2017 SEC Championship.
In her debut season on Rocky Top, freshman Waverly Whiston has started in all of Tennessee's tournaments.
"Waverly had a really good day today. She had an eight on a hole in the front nine but besides that, played very good golf," Pavon said.
The California native shot 2-over in her first SEC Championship to lead the Big Orange. She enters the second day of play tied for 13th place.
"I was really pumped. I was so excited last night I couldn't go to sleep," Whiston said. "It was definitely really exciting and it was better than I thought it would be. I just tried to stay relaxed out there. I knew I was nervous, but I knew I just had to release the tension from my shoulders and play my own game."
Ariana Macioce is also making her postseason debut. The junior transfer shot back-to-back birdies on the front nine and finished with a score of 79 on Wednesday.
"They were both pretty nervous and excited about playing in their first SEC Championship. Both of them got off to a pretty good start. Ari had a couple three-putts but she hit the ball pretty well. I think she can make up some ground tomorrow," Pavon said.
In the team standings, No. 2 Alabama leads the field after shooting 2-under (286). No. 10 South Carolina sits in second with a score of 3-over (291) and No. 24 Vanderbilt is in third (+8, 296). Alabama's Kristen Gillman, the seventh-ranked player in the country, leads the individual leaderboard with a 3-under 69.
"I just think we all need to get out there and really focus and really grind out. We just need to remember that each round counts. Today we didn't have a good day, so we need to bounce back for tomorrow," Whiston said.
Round Two Tee Times (From Hole 10)
- Williams: 9:20 a.m. ET
- Warren: 9:30 a.m. ET
- Macioce: 9:40 a.m. ET
- Newell: 9:50 a.m. ET
- Whiston: 10:00 a.m. ET
Top Three Team Scores
- 1. Alabama: 286 (-2)
- 2. South Carolina: 291 (+3)
- 3. Vanderbilt: 296 (+8)
- 11. Tennessee: 310 (+22)
- T13. Waverly Whiston: 74 (+2)
- T32. Anna Newell: 77 (+5)
- T46. Ariana Macioce: 79 (+7)
- T52. Blakesly Warren: 80 (+8)
- 68. Micheala Williams: 83 (+11)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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