Whiston Leads Lady Vols After Two Rounds of the Trinity Forest Invite

October 30, 2017 | Women's Golf

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DALLAS, Texas -- Tennessee finished day one of the Trinity Forest Invitational in third place (594, +18) with freshman Waverly Whiston leading the way for the Lady Vols with a one-under 143 on Monday.

"After my first round," Whiston said, "I was frustrated with my putting. It definitely improved a lot on the second 18. I also had a better mindset and played more aggressively."

Although the 6,372-yard Trinity Forest course played short, the firm greens proved to be extremely difficult as no team carded a score even with or below par. Likewise, only five players, including Whiston, shot rounds of par or better.

"It's tough to get through the round without making a mistake somewhere near the green that could result in a big number," head coach Judi Pavon said.

Whiston started the morning off with a 76 through her first 18 holes, but bounced back in the second round.

"Waverly played amazing the second round," Pavon said. "She hit the ball close and made putt after putt. She kept her poise after getting off to a very fast start. I'm proud of the way she played and handled the round, especially because the course is grueling and she must have been getting mentally tired."

The San Diego native carded birdies on three of her first five holes and added five more on the back nine to turn in a career-low score of 67. She enters Tuesday tied for second place (143, -1).

"I definitely feel a lot more comfortable on the course and feel very prepared for tomorrow," Whiston added.

Duplicating Whiston's first round score, both junior Ariana Macioce and Blakesly Warren shot 76 to start the day. Macioce ended round two with a two-over 74 for a 54-hole total of 150 (+6), tying her for 16th place. Warren duplicated her first round score of 76 and is tied for 31st place (152, +8).

Sophomore Micheala Williams shot 74 and carded three birdies on her first 18 holes before shooting four-over 76 in round two, tying for 16th place with Macioce (150, +6).

Rounding out the lineup for the Volunteers, senior Anna Newell tallied 79 in the first round and 75 in the second to finish the day tied for 37th place (154, +10).

Freshman Mariah Smith competed as an individual for Tennessee and enters the final round tied for 37th place (154, +10) after shooting 78 and 76, respectively.

"We are in a good position as a team," Pavon said. "We had a few big numbers and that's what kept us from being in the lead. The conditions are going to be rough tomorrow, cold and windy, so we are going to be tough and see if we can make up the shots we need to win."

Houston posted 586 (+10) through two rounds to finish the day atop the leaderboard while Kansas State carded a 15-over 591 to place second. The final round will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET in a shotgun start.

For complete stats and scores, visit golfstat.com.