University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE GOLF HEADS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN AUBURN
May 16, 2004 | Women's Golf
May 16, 2004
OPELIKA, Ala.
Head Coach Judi Pavon's golf team heads to Opelika, Ala. for the 2004 NCAA Championships at the Grand National Course over May 18-21. The national-title tournament is hosted by Auburn University. The Lady Vols are the seventh seed coming from the East Regional in the 24-team field and will look to improve on UT's fifth place finish in the 2000 NCAA Championships. The Lady Vols open the tournament Tuesday, paired with Arizona State and New Mexico on the 10th tee, with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. ET. UT continues play Wednesday, paired with the Sun Devils and the Lobos from the 1st tee, at 12:30 p.m. Tennessee then heads into the third round Thursday with tee times starting at 8 a.m., but dependent on cumulative results through the second round. The Big Orange then concludes the tournament and the season on Friday with tee times starting at 8 a.m. The course will play to a yardage of 6,215 yards, par 72.
"We are thrilled to be competing in the NCAA National Championship," Pavon said. "After failing to advance the past three seasons, it's a great relief to have advanced this year."
Leading the way for the Orange and White is sophomore Violeta Retamoza (Aguascalientes, Mexico). The All-SEC first-team member has paced Tennessee for six consecutive tournaments, which ties the school record twice-set by former Lady Vol standout Young-A Yang.
Joining Retamoza as part of UT's fivesome are sophomore Golda Johansson (Lund, Sweden), junior Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario, Canada), junior Teesha Ash (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and freshman Holly Cantwell (Morristown, Tenn.)
"Jessica Shepley is making her first appearance in three seasons, and is excited to have the opportunity to play in the NCAA Championship," Pavon said. "Additionally, Violeta has played well all spring and has the potential to compete for the individual title. Also, Golda is playing very solid and with a lot of confidence, while Teesha Ash played very solid the last two rounds at the NCAA East Regional and has had a terrific week of practice. Moreover, Holly is really playing solid and is excited to play in her first national-title tournament."
Overall, the Big Orange has gone to the NCAA Championships three times before this season with its highest finish coming in 2000 as UT took fifth place with a 1206 (301-298-306-301). In the 1997 edition, Tennessee finished in sixth place with a 1197 (309-301-295-292), while the Lady Vols wound up in 13th place in the school's initial run in the national-title tournament with a 1258 (317-313-307-321). Tennessee's highest finish by an individual came in 2001 as Young-A Yang took fifth place with a 288 (75-73-71-69).
UT's top scoring effort by an individual as a member of a team entry into the NCAA Championships came in 1997 when Jessica Lindbergh posted a 291 (74-70-74-73) to finish in sixth place, matching the squad's sixth-place effort with the 1197 tally.
The NCAA Championships features 19 of the Top 25 squads in the nation, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index Ratings. The ranked teams are as follows: #1 Duke, #2 UCLA, #3 California, #4 Ohio State, #5 Vanderbilt, #6 New Mexico, #7 Georgia, #8 Southern California, #10 Arizona, #11 Oklahoma State, #12 Washington, #14 Wake Forest, #15 Texas, #17 UNLV, #20 North Carolina, #21 Michigan State, # 22 Tennessee, #23 Stanford, #24 Furman.
This season, the Lady Vols are 21-44-1 (.318) against the 24-team championship field. Historically, the Big Orange is 346-349-7 (.493) against the invited institutions. UT also owns a winning record against 11 squads.
"Obviously, it will be a great field competing, but some good teams also stayed home," Pavon said. "Everybody is playing well right now and we're hoping to keep it up for one more week. I think we'll be very relaxed and focused."
The Yellowhammer State has been friendly to the Lady Vols over their history. Tennessee is 75-33-0 (.694) in eight total tournaments held within the confines of Alabama.
