University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Strong Day for Song, Lady Vols Eighth
February 16, 2014 | Women's Golf
Feb. 16, 2014
The Tennessee women's golf team competed well on its first day at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. The Lady Vols faced a 15-team field consisting of six of the nation's top-25 teams and remain in contention after one round of play.
After the front nine, the Lady Vols found themselves in second place behind stellar play from senior Chessey Thomas and freshman Lucia Polo. However, late round struggles dropped Tennessee to eighth place with a first round total of 300 (+12).
"Today was an okay day for us," head coach Judi Pavon said. "We did a lot of good things out on the course today, which was great to see. We had a few unforced errors that kept us from a great round. We will try to clean those up for tomorrow."
Tennessee connected on a total of ten birdies, six of which came from the combination of Thomas and Polo.
Fresh off a championship at the Lady Bulldog Individual, Thomas finished Sunday tied for eighth place after carding a 73 (+1). Polo is tied for 18th position after totaling a 74 (+2).
The biggest surprise of the day was the emergence of Daeun Song. The junior from Korea shot a 74 (+2) and currently sits tied for 18th place after the first round. Song is competing as an individual for the Lady Vols.
"My score indicates I played better than I think I did," Song said. "I got myself in trouble a lot of times, but I was able to save them and make some solid pars. I also learned the importance of having a course strategy."
Rounding out the UT lineup, junior Mason Chen carded a 75 (+3), Hannah Pietila shot a 78 (+6) and Emmie Pietila totaled an 84 (+12).
This marks the third time in program history the Lady Vols have played in the Puerto Rico tournament, which is hosted by Purdue University. The last visit came in 2009, when the Lady Vols finished runner-up. In 2009, Nathalie Mansson led Tennessee by finishing in third place with a score of 220 (+4).
Tennessee continues its quest for the tournament crown when the second round begins Monday at 8:00 a.m. (ET).
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 (Through One Round) | ||
| 1. | Arkansas | 288 (E) |
| 2. | Alabama | 295 (+7) |
| 3. | Iowa State | 296 (+8) |
| T-4. | NC State | 297 (+9) |
| T-4. | GRU Augusta | 297 (+9) |
| T-6. | Auburn | 298 (+10) |
| T-6. | Georgia | 298 (+10) |
| 8. | Tennessee | 300 (+12) |
| 9. | Northwestern | 301 (+13) |
| 10. | Michigan | 304 (+16) |
| 11. | Kent State | 305 (+17) |
| 12. | Purdue | 306 (+18) |
| 13. | Texas Tech | 307 (+19) |
| 14. | TCU | 308 (+20) |
| 15. | Missouri | 315 (+27) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Through One Round) | ||
| 1. | Emily Tubert, Arkansas | 68 (-4) |
| T-2. | Aurora Kan, Purdue | 71 (-1) |
| T-2. | Brittany Marchand, NC State | 71 (-1) |
| UT SCORES (Through One Round) | ||
| T-8. | Chessey Thomas | 73 (+1) |
| T-18. | Lucia Polo | 74 (+2) |
| *T-18. | Daeun Song | 74 (+2) |
| T-31. | Mason Chen | 75 (+3) |
| T-51. | Hannah Pietila | 78 (+6) |
| T-75. | Emmie Pietila | 84 (+12) |
