University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Northrop Grumman
Newell Leads Vols in RD 2 of Northrop Grumman
February 13, 2017 | Women's Golf
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. -- Led by a strong performance from All-American Anna Newell, the Tennessee Women's Golf team sits tied for 12th place at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.
Team Scores
- 1. No. 6 Florida: 290-275--565 (-3)
- 2. No. 2 Southern California: 285-282--567 (-1)
- 3. No. 22 Duke: 287-287--574 (+6)
Player Scores
- 1. No. 41 Kelly Grassel* (Florida): 69-68--137 (-5)
- 2. No. 19 Robynn Ree (Southern California): 68-70--138 (-4)
- T3. No. 2 Leona Maguire (Duke): 68-71--139 (-3)
- T3. No. 9 Lauren Stephenson (Alabama): 72-67--139 (-3)
- T3. No. 39 Maria Torres (Florida): 70-69--139 (-3)
- *Competed as an individual
Tennessee Scores
- Team (Tied for 12th Place): 298-292--590 (+22)
- T23. No. 78 Anna Newell: 75-71--146 (+4)
- T33. No. 99 Micheala Williams: 73-74--147 (+5)
- T58. No. 77 Blakesly Warren: 77-73--150 (+8)
- T65. Hannah Pietila: 77-74--151 (+9)
- *T65. Emmie Pietila: 69-82--151 (+9)
- T73. Lucia Polo: 73-80--153 (+11)
- *Competed as an individual
UT fired an eight-over 292 on Day Two at the Palos Verdes Golf Club, bringing the team's total score to 590. The Volunteers are just two strokes out of the top 10 in a field that features 10 of 15 teams in Golfstat's Top-25 Rankings.
"As a whole, we played better but the conditions were ideal so the whole field improved," said Head Coach Judi Pavon. "We are looking to improve tomorrow and move up into the top 10 in this tough field."
As a team, UT holds the best Par 3 average (3.00) of the field and turned in the second-most pars (116).
No. 6 Florida took a two shot lead over No. 2 Southern California after shooting nine-under in the round. Florida's No. 41-ranked Kelly Grassel (-5, 137) holds a one stroke lead over Southern California's No. 19-ranked Robynn Ree, in the individual battle.
"Anna was more steady today," added Pavon. "She made some good up and downs and finished off the day with two birdies to get back to even-par."
A day after shooting 75, Newell, the 78th-ranked player in the nation, fired an even-par 71 at the 6,017-yard course. She carded two back-to-back birdies on her final two holes of the round.
"I just tried to play more relaxed today and enjoy the golf course," said Newell. "I really focused on trusting myself and my game. My goal tomorrow is to improve my scoring and make some birdies. The course is very scorable so I want to take advantage."
Entering the final day of competition, the Florida native is tied for 23rd place.
Freshman Micheala Williams and senior Hannah Pietila posted the Vols' second best scores of the round (74). Williams also recorded two birdies en route to tying for 33rd place with a 147 (+5) total. Pietila remains tied for 65th place and rounded out scoring for the Big Orange.
Lucia Polo shot 80 and has a 153 (+11) two-day total to tie her for 73rd place.
Competing as an individual, Emmie Pietila finished the round tied for 65th place.
The final round of the tournament begins at 11:30 a.m. ET in a shotgun start. Tennessee is paired with No. 24 Ohio State, Washington and individual players. Emmie Pietila tees off at 11:30 a.m. ET with individuals from No. 11 Wake Forest and No. 24 Ohio State.
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's golf team, visit UTSports.com/w-golf, follow @Vol_WGolf on Twitter and like the Vols at Facebook.com/VolWomensGolf.
