University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Mercedes-Benz Championship
Women's Golf Earns Second-Place Finish
October 19, 2014 | Women's Golf
With the team runner-up finish, sophomore Hannah Pietila had her best collegiate finish with a second-place tie. Pietila shot rounds of 74, 69 and 72 for a combined total of two-over 215. Her second round tied for her career low round.
"It's awesome for Hannah to get this second-place finish," head coach Judi Pavon said. "She's had an awesome fall. She was determined and really prepared herself. She knew the greens and made it work. It really made a difference."
As a team, the Lady Vols finished with a combined score of 879 after rounds of 301, 290 and 288. They jumped up four spots from the second round.
"Second place was a great finish," Pavon said. "We took a hard road to get there after being in ninth place after the first day, but I'm really proud of the way they came back. The first day was uncharacteristic but they got right back on track."
In the team effort, Mason Chen had her best finish in a 10th place tie with a score of 221 (+8). Chen shot one-over par in the final round.
"Mason stepped in for us at a time that we really needed her," Pavon said. "A couple days before the tournament we found out one of our players was going to be out, and she really stepped up to the challenge and earned the best finish of her career. She did a great job."
Lucia Polo matched Chen's effort to finish with a twin score. Polo shot a final round of 72. Freshman Anna Newell shot her best round of the event with a score of 72. Her combined total came to 224 to finish in a tie for 22nd. AJ Newell finished in a tie for 26th after shooting three consecutive rounds of 75.
No. 2 South Carolina earned the tournament title after shooting the third best tournament score of 866, and Kent State followed in third place.
South Carolina also earned two individual titles with first place going to Nanna Madsen with a score of 212 (-1) and Mary Fran Hillow tying for second place. Hillow's final round score of 65 marked a tournament low round record.
Individually, Daeun Song finished best for the Lady Vols in a tie for 32nd place after earning her best round of 72. Emmie Pietila finished with a combined total of 229 after a final round of 77. Teleri Hughes finished with a third round score of 82.
"Everyone had at least one good round this tournament," Pavon said. "We have nice depth this season. We have players that we can call on when we need them. I'm proud of how all of the girls played this weekend."
The Lady Vols will be back in action Friday, Oct. 24 for The Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C. Live results will be made available at GolStatResults.com.
For continued coverage of Tennessee women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, at Facebook or visit UTSports.com.
