University of Tennessee Athletics
Monday, February 18
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Florida Atlantic Winter Warm Up
Lady Vols Capture FAU Winter Warm Up by 41 Strokes
February 18, 2019 | Women's Golf
Sophomore Mariah Smith (-7) wins first individual collegiate tournament as three Tennessee players finish in the top two
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The University of Tennessee women's golf team captured its second team title of the season, winning the FAU Winter Warm Up by 41 strokes over the field.
This is the largest margin of victory in program history, edging the previous record set at the 2006 Dr. Donnis Thompson by one stroke.
It is the second win of the season for the Lady Vols after capturing the Starmount Classic by 32 strokes, marking the first time since 2015 the team has won multiple titles in the same season.
The Lady Vols (-17) had the top three scores on the course including individual champion Mariah Smith. The sophomore, who finished 7-under-par over the two rounds, led nearly the entire tournament en route to her first collegiate title.
After firing a collegiate-low of 67 in the opening round on Monday, Smith edged out teammates Micheala Williams and Waverly Whiston by a stroke to win the individual crown.
Williams and Whiston tied for second at the event after both carding final rounds in the 60s on Monday. Whiston, who came into the day in third on the leaderboard, finished with the lowest score on the course in the final round. The sophomore turned in a season-low round of 68 (-4) with five birdies to help her to her best finish as a collegiate.
Williams was the only player in the 45-player field to have two rounds in the 60s this week. The Athens, Ala. native fired two rounds of 69 (-3) to record her highest finish in her time at Tennessee.
After taking a 27-stroke lead into the day, Tennessee continued to increase its lead on the field throughout the day as a flurry of birdies right before the turn helped push the Lady Vols advantage out to as much as 45 strokes before finishing 41 strokes better than the rest of the teams in the field.
Coach's Take
On starting spring season with a win:
"It feels great to win to start the spring season, but more importantly it was great to the see the girls play so well this early in the season. We saw some things we can definitely improve but also, saw some great things out there." – Coach Judi Pavon
On how this will prepare the team for Westbrook Invitational:
"The scores in Arizona are traditionally pretty low so this tournament will give us the confidence to know we can shoot low and be competitive." – Coach Judi Pavon
On Mariah Smith's play this week:
"Mariah is hitting the ball really well and took advantage of her birdie opportunities. She knew she would be battling her teammates today and did a good job staying calm and executing good shots." – Coach Judi Pavon
Player's Take
On feelings of winning first collegiate tournament:
"After today's round, I felt just pure excitement because I knew how badly I wanted to win and knew that this was a great opportunity to do it. I was also a bit relieved because I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little stressed, especially after bogeying my final hole." – Mariah Smith
On the parts of her game that were working well:
"I feel that my game was pretty solid all around this week. My putting especially was pretty good this week which was nice to see because I've been working super hard on it recently. It was great to finally see some putts start to drop." – Mariah Smith
Final Scores:
Team
Tennessee Team
Individual
Up Next
Tennessee is back on the course on Sunday when it takes part in the Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz.
This is the second time the Lady Vols have played in the tournament. The only other time came in 2015 when UT won the tournament while AJ Newell earned medalist honors.
This is the largest margin of victory in program history, edging the previous record set at the 2006 Dr. Donnis Thompson by one stroke.
It is the second win of the season for the Lady Vols after capturing the Starmount Classic by 32 strokes, marking the first time since 2015 the team has won multiple titles in the same season.
The Lady Vols (-17) had the top three scores on the course including individual champion Mariah Smith. The sophomore, who finished 7-under-par over the two rounds, led nearly the entire tournament en route to her first collegiate title.
After firing a collegiate-low of 67 in the opening round on Monday, Smith edged out teammates Micheala Williams and Waverly Whiston by a stroke to win the individual crown.
Williams and Whiston tied for second at the event after both carding final rounds in the 60s on Monday. Whiston, who came into the day in third on the leaderboard, finished with the lowest score on the course in the final round. The sophomore turned in a season-low round of 68 (-4) with five birdies to help her to her best finish as a collegiate.
Williams was the only player in the 45-player field to have two rounds in the 60s this week. The Athens, Ala. native fired two rounds of 69 (-3) to record her highest finish in her time at Tennessee.
After taking a 27-stroke lead into the day, Tennessee continued to increase its lead on the field throughout the day as a flurry of birdies right before the turn helped push the Lady Vols advantage out to as much as 45 strokes before finishing 41 strokes better than the rest of the teams in the field.
Coach's Take
On starting spring season with a win:
"It feels great to win to start the spring season, but more importantly it was great to the see the girls play so well this early in the season. We saw some things we can definitely improve but also, saw some great things out there." – Coach Judi Pavon
On how this will prepare the team for Westbrook Invitational:
"The scores in Arizona are traditionally pretty low so this tournament will give us the confidence to know we can shoot low and be competitive." – Coach Judi Pavon
On Mariah Smith's play this week:
"Mariah is hitting the ball really well and took advantage of her birdie opportunities. She knew she would be battling her teammates today and did a good job staying calm and executing good shots." – Coach Judi Pavon
Player's Take
On feelings of winning first collegiate tournament:
"After today's round, I felt just pure excitement because I knew how badly I wanted to win and knew that this was a great opportunity to do it. I was also a bit relieved because I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little stressed, especially after bogeying my final hole." – Mariah Smith
On the parts of her game that were working well:
"I feel that my game was pretty solid all around this week. My putting especially was pretty good this week which was nice to see because I've been working super hard on it recently. It was great to finally see some putts start to drop." – Mariah Smith
Final Scores:
Team
| 1 | Tennessee | -17 (559) |
| 2 | Florida Atlantic | +24 (600) |
| 3 | Oakland | +32 (608) |
| 4 | Brown | +35 (611) |
| 5 | Dartmouth | +44 (620) |
| 6 | Columbia | +46 (622) |
| 7 | Detroit Mercy | +66 (642) |
Tennessee Team
| Mariah Smith | 1 | 137 (-7) |
| Micheala Williams | T2 | 138 (-6) |
| Waverly Whiston | T2 | 138 (-6) |
| Ariana Macioce | T7 | 148 (+4) |
| Mikayla Bardwell | T9 | 150 (+6) |
Individual
| Malia Stovall | T16 | 155 (+11) |
Up Next
Tennessee is back on the course on Sunday when it takes part in the Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz.
This is the second time the Lady Vols have played in the tournament. The only other time came in 2015 when UT won the tournament while AJ Newell earned medalist honors.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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