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Monday, April 8
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Clemson Invitational
Lady Vols Move Up Five Spots in Round Two of Clemson Invitational
April 08, 2019 | Women's Golf
Junior Micheala Williams shoots 67 (-5) in second round and is tied for the lead through 36 holes of play
SUNSET, S.C. – University of Tennessee women's golf team moved up five spots in the second round of the Clemson Invitational.
The Lady Vols recorded the third lowest score on the course Monday, finishing 3-under-par for the round. They leaped No. 5 Florida State, No. 17 Virginia, No. 18 Michigan State as well as top-50 teams in Purdue and Virginia Tech.
Tennessee, who sits in seventh after 36-holes of play, is now just three strokes back of Illinois for fourth place on the leaderboard.
Junior Micheala Williams fired her second round in the 60s this week, carding a 67 (-5) to move into a tie for the lead. It was the second lowest score in the field and she is just one of four players to have a sub-70 score in the first two rounds of the tournament.
So far this spring, the Athens, Ala. native now has seven round in the 60s this spring. Her 36-hole score of 136 (-8) ties the third lowest score thru two rounds in program history, a feat she also accomplished last season at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
Williams leads a field that features 16 of the top 100 golfers in the country according the latest Golfstat rankings. She is currently tied with No.-4 ranked Julie McCarthy of Auburn. Williams will look to become the first Lady Vol to win two individual titles in the same season since 2011.
Sophomore Mariah Smith remains in contention for the individual title as well. Smith carded her second under-par round of the tournament Monday and sits in seventh at 5-under-par. Smith, who is playing as an individual this week, will be the first player in contention to tee off tomorrow, starting at 8:00 a.m.
Fellow sophomore Waverly Whiston matched Smith's second round score of 71 (-1) to move into the top 20 on the leaderboard. Whiston entered the day tied for 25th and with the help of two birdies in the final four holes moved up seven spots on the leaderboard.
Freshman Malia Stovall also finished 1-under-par Monday to help the Lady Vols move up the leaderboard.
Tennessee will tee off the final round tomorrow at 8:54 a.m. ET. The Lady Vols will be paired with Texas A&M (-1) and LSU (E) who are in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Coach's Take
On Micheala Williams in first place after 36 holes of play:
"Micheala had a great day. The conditions were really good except for a short downpour and she took advantage and played really well. She is a very solid player, but has lacked consistency in the past. This spring she has really found a way to play well day in and day out." – Coach Judi Pavon
On taking advantage of scoreable conditions:
"The players sometimes get a chance to look at the scores during a delay and I think today that lit a fire under them. We were still in around 12th place at that point and when we went back out Micheala, Waverly and Malia made some birdies that helped us jump up the leaderboard. This is a course that you can really score on if you are hitting your irons well and all four of the players that played well today feel good about those shots." – Coach Judi Pavon
On playing with two SEC teams in the final round:
"I know the SEC is on their mind. It's always good to play with other SEC teams and hopefully we can move ahead of both." – Coach Judi Pavon
Day Two Scores:
Team
Tennessee Team
Tennessee Individual
The Lady Vols recorded the third lowest score on the course Monday, finishing 3-under-par for the round. They leaped No. 5 Florida State, No. 17 Virginia, No. 18 Michigan State as well as top-50 teams in Purdue and Virginia Tech.
Tennessee, who sits in seventh after 36-holes of play, is now just three strokes back of Illinois for fourth place on the leaderboard.
Junior Micheala Williams fired her second round in the 60s this week, carding a 67 (-5) to move into a tie for the lead. It was the second lowest score in the field and she is just one of four players to have a sub-70 score in the first two rounds of the tournament.
So far this spring, the Athens, Ala. native now has seven round in the 60s this spring. Her 36-hole score of 136 (-8) ties the third lowest score thru two rounds in program history, a feat she also accomplished last season at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
Williams leads a field that features 16 of the top 100 golfers in the country according the latest Golfstat rankings. She is currently tied with No.-4 ranked Julie McCarthy of Auburn. Williams will look to become the first Lady Vol to win two individual titles in the same season since 2011.
Sophomore Mariah Smith remains in contention for the individual title as well. Smith carded her second under-par round of the tournament Monday and sits in seventh at 5-under-par. Smith, who is playing as an individual this week, will be the first player in contention to tee off tomorrow, starting at 8:00 a.m.
Fellow sophomore Waverly Whiston matched Smith's second round score of 71 (-1) to move into the top 20 on the leaderboard. Whiston entered the day tied for 25th and with the help of two birdies in the final four holes moved up seven spots on the leaderboard.
Freshman Malia Stovall also finished 1-under-par Monday to help the Lady Vols move up the leaderboard.
Tennessee will tee off the final round tomorrow at 8:54 a.m. ET. The Lady Vols will be paired with Texas A&M (-1) and LSU (E) who are in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Coach's Take
On Micheala Williams in first place after 36 holes of play:
"Micheala had a great day. The conditions were really good except for a short downpour and she took advantage and played really well. She is a very solid player, but has lacked consistency in the past. This spring she has really found a way to play well day in and day out." – Coach Judi Pavon
On taking advantage of scoreable conditions:
"The players sometimes get a chance to look at the scores during a delay and I think today that lit a fire under them. We were still in around 12th place at that point and when we went back out Micheala, Waverly and Malia made some birdies that helped us jump up the leaderboard. This is a course that you can really score on if you are hitting your irons well and all four of the players that played well today feel good about those shots." – Coach Judi Pavon
On playing with two SEC teams in the final round:
"I know the SEC is on their mind. It's always good to play with other SEC teams and hopefully we can move ahead of both." – Coach Judi Pavon
Day Two Scores:
Team
| T1 | Vanderbilt | -21 (555) |
| T1 | Auburn | -13 (563) |
| 3 | Clemson | -8 (568) |
| 4 | Illinois | -2 (574) |
| 5 | Texas A&M | -1 (575) |
| 6 | LSU | E (576) |
| 7 | Tennessee | +1 (577) |
| T8 | Virginia Tech | +3 (579) |
| T8 | Florida State | +3 (579) |
| T8 | Augusta | +3 (579) |
| 11 | Michigan State | +4 (580) |
| 12 | Virginia | +5 (581) |
| 13 | Purdue | +6 (582) |
| 14 | Kentucky | +8 (584) |
| 15 | Indiana | +9 (585) |
| 16 | UNC-Wilmington | +15 (591) |
| 17 | Tulane | +19 (595) |
| 18 | Kansas | +26 (602) |
Tennessee Team
| Micheala Williams | T1 | 136 (-8) |
| Waverly Whiston | T18 | 143 (-1) |
| Malia Stovall | T51 | 147 (+3) |
| Mikayla Bardwell | T75 | 151 (+7) |
| Ariana Macioce | T87 | 155 (+11) |
Tennessee Individual
| Mariah Smith | 7 | 139 (-5) |
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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