University of Tennessee Athletics
WGOLF CENTRAL: NCAA Championships
May 19, 2015 | Women's Golf
» NCAA Tournament Guide
» Championship History
» Live Scoring
» Roster
» Schedule
» 2014-15 Stats
» Record Book
Who's Playing?
Lucia Polo, Anna Newell, AJ Newell, Emmie Pietila, Hannah Pietila
"We are looking forward to competing his weekend at the NCAA Championship," head coach Judi Pavon said. "After such a good season, this is the perfect way to end it and to once again test ourselves against the best teams. We are going to keep our focus the same as it's been all year - each player keeping their focus on their games and the things they can control."
Tennessee will compete as a team with its starting five: Lucia Polo, Anna Newell, Emmie Pietila, AJ Newell and Hannah Pietila. The Lady Vols recently finished in third place at the San Antonio Regional. Emmie Pietila posted a career low 209 and finished in fourth place.
Twenty-four teams and 12 individuals not on advancing teams from the NCAA Regionals were selected for the Championships.
"As it should be the field this week is very strong," Pavon said. "There were a few good teams that didn't advance through regionals but all the top teams will be there. We have competed against almost all of the top teams and have played well against most of them."
The teams participating, in order of ranking, include: Southern California, South Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Arizona, LSU, Washington, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Virginia, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Stanford, Northwestern, Baylor, UNLV, UC-Davis, Tulane, Alabama, Texas Tech, Purdue, California, North Carolina State and Campbell.
Tennessee will tee off for the first round at 8:36 a.m. ET from the 10th hole and will be play with Virginia and Wake Forest. In the second round, UT will tee off at 1:06 p.m. ET.
This year's format differs from years before. There will be 24 teams and 12 individuals who will compete in 54 holes of stroke play. Following the 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams and top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72 hole stroke play individual champion.
The top eight teams after 72 holes will be placed into a bracket with the number 1 seed playing the number 8 seed, the number 2 seed playing the number 7 seed, the number 3 seed playing the number 6 seed and the number 4 seed playing the number 5 seed.
In the match play format, each hole is its own competition. The player with the fewest strokes on an individual hole wins that respective hole. The player that wins the most holes wins the match. The team that wins the most matches, three out of five, will win as a team and advance.
Also new this year is television coverage by Golf Channel. There will be live tournament coverage of the women's championships beginning on Monday, May 25 to crown the individual national champion, as well as track the teams attempting to qualify for the eight-team match-play tournament. Golf Channel will provide coverage of all three rounds of match play.
Live stats throughout the tournament will be available at Golfstat.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
- The Concession Golf Club | Par 72 | 6,468 yards
TOURNAMENT FORMAT FOR CHAMPIONSHIP WIN
- 72 holes | 18 holes Friday | 18 holes Saturday | 18 holes Sunday (top 15 move on) | 18 holes Monday (top 8 move on) | Match play quarterfinals/semifinals Tuesday | Match play finals Wednesday
PARTICIPATING TEAMS (24)
- Southern California, Duke, Arizona, TENNESSEE, Baylor, Purdue, Stanford, Washington, UC Davis, Northwestern, Arkansas, Texas Tech, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Alabama, UCLA UNLV, Texas A&M, Tulane, Virginia, LSU, NC State, Campbell, California
PREVIOUS NCAA CHAMPIONS
- 2014: Duke
- 2013: Southern California
NOTES
- This marks the 12th NCAA Championships appearance for the Lady Vols.
- The Lady Vols finished in third place at the NCAA San Antonio Regional. The group posted the program's lowest 18-hole total in the first round with a score of 276.
- Lucia Polo was honored as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was named to the All-SEC Second Team.
- Freshman Anna Newell was named to both the All-SEC Second Team and All-Freshman team after an excellent freshman campaign.
- 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.
- Of the nine team tournaments played in this season, UT has seven top-5 finishes, including two runner-up finishes.
- 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
GOLF CHANNEL LIVE COVERAGE
- Monday, May 25 | Final Round, Individual Stroke Play | 4:00-7:00 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, May 26 | Quarterfinals, Match Play | 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, May 26 | Semifinals, Match Play | 3:30-7:00 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, May 27 | Finals, Match Play | 3:00-7:00 p.m. ET
Players Mentioned
