University of Tennessee Athletics
WGOLF CENTRAL: SEC Championships
April 14, 2015 | Women's Golf
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Who's Playing?
Lucia Polo, Anna Newell, AJ Newell, Emmie Pietila, Hannah Pietila
"Well, I'm pretty nervous going in to it just because anything can happen out there," head coach Judi Pavon said. "The SEC is so strong, but I'm excited for our players to go out and compete. This is something in the back of their mind all year long, so this will be good to see what we can do with a bit of pressure on us."
After a successful regular season, which includes two wins and four additional top-five finishes, Tennessee is looking to improve on its success at past SEC Championships. In 2010 and 2011, former Lady Vol Erica Popson won back-to-back SEC individual titles.
This trip, the Lady Vols will travel its same spring line-up consisting of Lucia Polo, Anna Newell, AJ Newell, Emmie Pietila and Hannah Pietila. Only Polo and Hannah Pietila played in last year's postseason tournament.
"I think they'll handle it well," Pavon said. "They're pretty mature. We've just been focusing on our own games all season. We haven't been focusing on winning or playing well, just really on each player doing their best. If we just can keep our focus there, I think that they'll continue to play well. There's no reason to think that they won't just because it's the SEC Championship."
Eight of the 14 teams in the conference are ranked in the top-20, according to Golfstat, including No. 2 South Carolina. This season, the Lady Vols are 14-7 against teams in the SEC in head-to-head competition.
"It's a really strong field of teams, but it always is," Pavon said. "You have to show up. You have to do your best. The difference between first and ninth could be just a couple shots. It's always a challenge. It's always fun, but we expect to do our best and play well."
The Lady Vols will play in the practice round on Thursday, April 16. Actual tournament play will commence on Friday, April 17 at 9:00 a.m. CT/10:00 a.m. ET with a shotgun start.
Live stats will be available throughout the tournament on Golfstat.com.
The SEC will also provide stats and up-to-date information at Secsports.com.
For continued coverage of Tennessee women's golf, follow the team on Twitter @LadyVol_Golf, at Facebook.com/LadyVolGolf or visit UTSports.com.
COURSE INFORMATION
- Greystone Golf & Country Club | Legacy Course | Par 72 | 6,308 yards
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
- 54 holes | 18 holes Friday (shotgun start) | 18 holes Saturday | 18 holes Sunday
PARTICIPATING TEAMS (14)
- Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, TENNESSEE, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS
- 2014 Team: Vanderbilt
- 2014 Individual: Simin Feng, Vanderbilt
- 2013 Team: Alabama
- 2013 Individual: Stephanie Meadow, Alabama
NOTES
- The Lady Vols have won two tournaments this season, the Westbrook Spring Invite and SDSU Farms Invite. It is the first time since the 2010-11 season that they've won two tournaments in the same season.
- The team collectively carded the program's lowest round at the Westbrook Spring Invitational With 279. They went on to win it with the program's second lowest score after 54 holes with a total of 851.
- Of the eight team tournaments played in this season, UT has six top-5 finishes, including two runner-up finishes.
- Freshman Anna Newell carded the program's seventh lowest low round score at the Golfweek Challenge. Her sister, senior AJ Newell, carded the same at the Cougar Classic.
- In her first collegiate win, AJ Newell totaled the eighth best score after 54 holes with a 210 at the Westbrook Spring Invitational.
RESULTS
- Golfstatresults.com
TV COVERAGE
- The SEC Championships delayed coverage will air on the SEC Network on April 29, 2015 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
