WGOLF CENTRAL: Darius Rucker Intercollegiate

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Tennessee women's golf heads to the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate this weekend where the Lady Vols will be facing another strong field. The tournament runs Friday, March 2, through Sunday, March 4, at Long Cove Club (par 71, 6,160 yards) in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

The Darius Rucker Intercollegiate will consist of 18 teams, 10 being ranked in Golf Stat's top 25. The No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks are hosting five other top 10 teams: No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 9 Furman.

The Field

No. 2 Alabama
No. 3 Arkansas
No. 6 Arizona State
Auburn
Baylor
No. 5 Duke
No. 9 Furman
Georgia
LSU
Mississippi State
No. 13 Northwestern
North Carolina
No. 14 Oklahoma State
No. 8 South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
No. 20 Virginia
No. 23 Wake Forest

Tournament Format

The Darius Rucker Intercollegiate will be played in an 18-18-18 format with the practice round being played on Thursday, March 1.
Round one will begin on Friday, March 2, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The second round will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 3.
The third and final round is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, March 4. The awards presentation will immediately follow the round.

Tournament History

2018 marks the seventh year of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate as well as the seventh consecutive year Tennessee has played in the tournament.
In 2017, Tennessee placed 12th with a score of 900.
In 2016, the Vols shot 888, placing 10th out of 17 teams.
The Orange and White claimed fourth place out of 17 teams in 2015 with a score of 889. The placement marks UT's best finish in the history of the tournament.
The tournament was founded after Puggy Blackmon, South Carolina Director of Golf and Associate Head Coach, mentioned the idea to South Carolina Alumnus, Darius Rucker, after some of the women's team played a round of golf with him.
Long Cove Club features the Pete Dye Golf course, designed by Pete Dye. The course features a challenging design, hilly lies and beautiful saltwater marshes.

Tennessee's Lineup

2017-18 Lady Vols

Anna Newell
- This season, Newell boasts a 73.58 stroke average through four tournaments and a top-three finish at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship after turning in a perfect card with three birdies in the final round. She paced the Volunteers in the two-day Ocean Course Invitational with a two-over 221. The Florida native carded two rounds at or below par to finish in 14th place. At the Magnolia Invite, Newell shot a tournament-low round of 67 on the first day en route to tying for 17th place. Newell started out the spring leading the Lady Vols at the Northrop Grumman finishing tied for 49^th, shooting a team best, 73 (+2) in round one.
Blakesly Warren
- Warren enters the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate with four rounds of par or better. In the fall she carded three top-25 finishes, including a 12^th-place finish at the Magnolia Invitational with a score of 219 (+3). Hailing from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Warren shot a career-low 68 in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship to finish the tournament tied for 14th place at one-under. She rounded out the fall tied for 29th place in the Ocean Course Invitational after posting par in the first round. Warren posted a 229 at the Northrop Grumman finish the first tournament of the spring tied for 54^th place.
Micheala Williams
- Williams is looking to build off a fall campaign in which she posted a 74.25 average through four tournaments. She finished in the top 20 in three of those events and carded two rounds of par or better. The Athens, Alabama, native led the Orange and White in the first two rounds of the Ocean Course Invitational with an even-par 146 and tied for 16th place in the tournament to begin the 2017-18 season. She shot a 231 to start off her spring campaign at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge where she finished tied for 63^rd.
Waverly Whiston
- Whiston continues her debut season on Rocky Top in the Northrop Grumman after competing in all four of Tennessee's fall tournaments. In the Ocean Course Invite, she tied for 37th place and carded her first round of par or better as a Volunteer. She then shot 220 in the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship before carding a career-low 217 at the Magnolia Invite en route to an eighth-place finish. She posted a tournament-low and career-low score of 67 in the second round of the Trinity Forest Invitational to record her second top-10 finish of the fall. Overall, Whiston has shot four rounds of par or better since donning the orange and white. At the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, Whiston tallied a 232 finishing tied for 67^th in the tournament.
Ariana Macioce
- A junior transfer from Georgia Southern, Macioce played in all four fall tournaments for the Lady Vols. She carded two rounds of par or better and averaged 75.92 overall in the fall.

Program Notes:

In the team's first tournament of 2017-18, UT tied for fifth place (893), while Anna Newell and Micheala Williams placed in the top 16 individually. Overall, the Vols shot five rounds of par or better in the Ocean Course Invitational (Sept. 4-5).
The Lady Vols closed out the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Sept. 18-19) with a final round of 280 (-4) to jump into third place. Newell also placed third in the tournament.
Tennessee women's golf carded 293 in the final round of the Magnolia Invitational (Oct. 1-3) to place third in the tournament. The finish marked the Lady Vols' second top-three finish this season and the team's first back-to-back placement in the top three since the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
The Vols closed out the fall with a third-place finish in the Trinity Forest Invitational where Whiston carded her second collegiate top-10 finish.
The Lady Vols struggled in their opening spring tournament, where they faced one of the strongest fields so far this season, including 17 other ranked opponents, finishing 16^that the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.
Tennessee's early enrollee, Malia Stovall, was ranked as the No. 1 golfer in the state of Tennessee in the 2018 signing class.
Whiston was named a freshman to watch on Golfweek's Preseason Top 10 Freshmen List in September.
Head Coach Judi Pavon is in her 18th season at the helm of the program. Under her tutelage, Tennessee has reached 10 NCAA Championships in the last 14 years and posted a winning record in all but one season. The Vols have also had success in the classroom as the team posted the highest GPA (3.79) in both women's golf and Tennessee Athletics history during the 2016-2017 season.
Since the program's first regional bid in 1993, the Vols have qualified for the NCAA postseason every year with 2017 marking Tennessee's 25th consecutive appearance.

Additional Information

Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com and results will be posted to the recap at the conclusion of each round.

For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's golf team, visit UTSports.com/w-golf, follow @Vol_WGolf on twitter, instagram and snapchat and like the Vols at Facebook.com/VolWomensGolf.

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Players Mentioned

Ariana Macioce

Anna Newell

Malia Stovall

Blakesly Warren

Waverly Whiston

Micheala Williams-Luck

University of Tennessee Athletics