WGOLF CENTRAL: SunTrust Gator Invitational

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Tennessee women's golf heads to the SunTrust Gator Invitational after a strong performance last weekend from freshman Waverly Whiston, who carded the first top-25 finish of the spring for the Lady Vols. The tournament takes place Saturday, March 10 through Sunday, March 11 at Mark Bostick Golf Course (par 70, 6,002 yards) in Gainesville, Florida.

No. 12 Florida is hosting 11 other teams this weekend at the SunTrust Gator Invitational. Two of the teams competing are ranked in Golfstat's top-25; No. 7 Furman and No. 12 Florida.

The Field

No. 12 Florida
No. 44 Campbell
No. 35 Clemson
Daytona State College
Florida International
No. 7 Furman
No. 33 Ole Miss
No. 95 North Texas
No. 74 Oregon
No. 84 Southern Mississippi
No. 40 Tennessee
No. 79 Central Florida

Tournament Format

The SunTrust Gator Invitational will be played in an 36-18 format with the practice round being played on Friday, March 9.
Day one will feature 36 holes with round one beginning on Saturday, March 10. After the first 18 holes, play will continue into the second round.
The third and final round is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 11. The awards presentation will immediately follow the round.

Tournament History

The Lady Vols are making their sixth appearance in the tournament since the 1996-97 season. That year, UT finished second out of 21 teams with a score of 898.
Tennessee alumni Young-A Yang posted 68 in the third round of the 2001 SunTrust Gator Invitational.
Mark Bostick Golf Course was designed by Donald Russ during the 1920s. The course is located less than a mile away from campus. The course features many low hanging trees that offer a big challenge to competitors, as well as ponds and steep hills.

Tennessee's Lineup

Individual: Mariah Smith

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. At the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, Newell shot a 73 (+2) in round one and finished tied for 51^st overall.
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 finishing the first tournament of the spring tied for 54^th place. At the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, Warren finished tied for 62^nd with a score of 230.
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. Williams finished tied for 69^th at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate with a final tally of 232.
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 five 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. Whiston posted her third top-25 finish of the season with a 54-hole total of 223, featuring a round three score of an even par (71) at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
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 in the fall. In her first event of the spring, Macioce shot a 235 at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate and finished tied for 83^rd.
Mariah Smith
- Smith continues her freshman season this weekend after playing in all four of Tennessee's fall tournaments. The Clarksville native opened her collegiate career with a 51st place finish at the Ocean Course Invite before shooting 226 in the annual Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship. She capped the fall with back-to-back 41st place finishes at the Magnolia Invite and the Trinity Forest Invite. Smith started the spring off at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge where she shot a 242, finishing tied for 85^th place.

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 they will face this season, including 17 other ranked opponents, finishing 16^that the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.
The Vols finished tied for 16^th at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate where they faced another strong field including nine teams ranked in Golfstat's top-20.
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 on Facebook at Facebook.com/VolWomensGolf.

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Players Mentioned

Ariana Macioce

Anna Newell

Mariah Smith

Malia Stovall

Blakesly Warren

Waverly Whiston

Micheala Williams-Luck

University of Tennessee Athletics