GOLF CENTRAL: Cougar Classic

Sunday, September 9

Charleston, SC

All Day

University of Tennessee

Cougar Classic

September 07, 2018 | Women's Golf

Lady Vols open up fall schedule in South Carolina

By: Andy Kovar

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee women's golf team tees off its fall season Sunday at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C.

This is the first time since the 2014 fall season that the Lady Vols will participate in the tournament field. They are joined in the field by SEC rivals Arkansas, Florida, LSU and Vanderbilt.

The field also includes Baylor, Furman, North Carolina State and Wake Forest who were all ranked inside of the top 25 last season.

Junior Micheala Williams earned the top spot in the lineup as Tennessee qualified for all five spots in the lineup. She is coming off of a strong 2017-18 campaign that ended with her finishing tied for 27th at the NCAA Championships. Williams finished her sophomore campaign with five top 25 finishes in 12 tournaments played.

Making her first appearance for the Lady Vols, freshman Mikayla Bardwell will tee off out of the No. 4 position. The Lewisville, Texas native was the No. 36-ranked player in Golfweek's 2018 class.

First round play will start at 8:30 a.m. (ET) off of hole No. 1 with additional groups going off of No. 10 starting at 8:42 a.m. (ET).

Format: The tournament is being played at the Par 72, 6,261 yards Yeamans Hall in Hanahan, S.C. The 54-hole tournament will have one round each day.

The Vols' Lineup
Micheala Williams
The Athens, Ala. native will start the season penciled in the top spot for the Vols. The junior has played in 23 tournaments over her first two seasons finishing in the top 10 four times and top 25 nine times.

Waverly Whiston
The sophomore will look to build on a strong freshman campaign that included top 10 finishes at the Magnolia Invitational and Trinity Forest Invitational.

Ariana Macioce
The Phoenix, Ariz. Native enters her senior campaign with 80 collegiate rounds under her belt with five top 10 and seven top 25 finishes to her name.

Mikayla Bardwell
It will be the first time Bardwell competes for the Lady Vols. The native Texan was a three-time all-state selections at Prestonwood Academy.

Mariah Smith
Smith earned the final spot in the opening starting five in qualification. The sophomore played in four tournaments last season with her top finishes coming at the Magnolia Invitational and Trinity Forest Invitational.

Follow the Action
Play will begin on Sunday, Sept. 9th. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com. A complete recap with full results will be posted on UTSports.com following each day's play.