University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
NCAA Championship
Lady Vols Qualify for Match Play
May 25, 2015 | Women's Golf
BRADENTON, Fla. -- On Memorial Day, the No. 12 Tennessee women's golf team began their day by finishing round three, and ended it with an emotional embrace after securing one of eight match play spots in the 2015 NCAA Women's Golf Championship.
Head Coach Judi Pavon's Lady Volunteers had two to five holes to finish from Sunday's third round. The team resumed play at 7:30 a.m. (ET), and proceeded to post 300 (+12) to secure a spot inside the first cut of 15 teams. They began their fourth and final round of stroke play at 11:10 a.m. (ET) off the first tee.
Senior AJ Newell proved to be clutch on the biggest stage of her career as a Lady Volunteer. Newell birdied the par-5 third and bogeyed the ninth to make the turn at even par. A birdie on the par-3 11th moved her back under par, but a bogey on the 15th gave it right back. She bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 17th and finished with a par on the 18th to conclude the round 2-under par en route to tying for seventh place.
After recording bogey on the first hole, sophomore Lucia Polo was on her game the rest of the fourth round. Polo earned her lost stroke back by carding birdie on the par-5 seventh. She made the turn at even par. The sophomore posted two bogeys on the back and concluded her round 2-over par and in a tie for 49th place. Freshman Anna Newell carded two birdies on the day, and sank one of the biggest putts of the round on the par-4 18th to save bogey. Newell posted 4-over par to finish tied for 34th place.
Sophomore sisters Emmie Pietila and Hannah Pietila both had tough rounds on Monday. Emmie posted 5-over on the front, and 5-over on the back to finish 10-over par on the day and in a tie for 62nd place. Hannah was 6-over when she made the turn, and finished 12-over on the day and in a tie for 69th place.
An emotional Pavon was extremely proud of the way her team performed under pressure on Monday afternoon in order to earn a spot in the match play quarterfinals.
"We're thrilled. We're so excited," said Coach Pavon. "This was sort of a reach, reach goal for us. I'm so proud of these girls for playing so tough. It's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure out here. This golf course is punishing hole-after-hole, and they just did an amazing job."
The round's defining moment came on the par-5 17th when AJ Newell was sitting 175-yards out after her drive. She grabbed six-iron, started her swing and the horn sounded for a weather delay. "I remember thinking, do I stop? No, the club is in a great position," Newell said about what was running through her mind when the horn sounded. The senior leader proceeded to stick it around 10 feet from the pin. After marking her ball, play was suspended for 30 minutes.
After the delay, Newell came out and rolled in the eagle putt to propel the Lady Vols back to the top eight. She witnessed her sister, freshman Anna Newell, roll in a clutch putt on the 18th green and proceeded to split the fairway with her tee shot. AJ went on to finish the round with a par on the 18th, and was immediately met with an emotional embrace from Pavon.
"AJ finishing eagle, par to really solidify it and make sure we get in was great," said Pavon. "It's been a great tournament for her."
Tennessee will take on Baylor in the first quarterfinal of match play. The teams will square off at 7:00 a.m. (ET) on the 10th tee. The winner of the match will take on the winner of the Duke vs. Texas Tech match at 1:30 p.m. (ET) off the first tee.
For a full leaderboard rundown, Click Here.
Volunteer fans can continue to keep up with the team by following @LadyVol_Golf on Twitter.
| TEAM SCORES (Stroke Play Finals) | ||
| 1. | Southern California | 297-303-298-294--1192 (+40) |
| 2. | Duke | 293-309-292-303--1197 (+45) |
| 3. | Baylor | 297-307-306-288--1198 (+46) |
| 4. | Stanford | 293-323-296-287--1199 (+47) |
| 5. | Arizona | 300-311-294-300--1205 (+53) |
| T-7. | Tennessee | 301-309-300-302--1212 (+60) |
| T-7. | Texas Tech | 319-294-307-292--1212 (+60) |
| 8. | Washington | 301-316-297-300--1214 (+62) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Stroke Play Finals) | ||
| 1. | Emma Talley, Alabama | 70-73-73-69--285 (-3) |
| T-2. | Gaby Lopez, Arkansas | 70-76-74-66--286 (-2) |
| T-2. | Leona Maguire, Duke | 71-74-73-68--286 (-2) |
| UT SCORES (Stroke Play Finals) | ||
| T-7. | AJ Newell | 73-73-76-70--292 (+4) |
| T-34. | Anna Newell | 75-79-74-76--304 (+16) |
| T-49. | Lucia Polo | 80-77-79-74--310 (+22) |
| T-62. | Emmie Pietila | 81-81-71-82--315 (+27) |
| T-69. | Hannah Pietila | 73-80-79-84--316 (+28) |
