University of Tennessee Athletics

GOLF CENTRAL: Cougar Classic
September 08, 2019 | Women's Golf
The Lady Vols are set to start the season in Charleston, South Carolina in 18-team field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 28 University of Tennessee women's golf team is set to start the fall season at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, South Carolina.
The field features an 18-team field with the Lady Vols as one of five Southeastern Conference teams to participate in the tournament. There will be six WGCA top-20 teams in the tournament field. The Lady Vols were receiving votes in the poll to enter the season.
The Lady Vols are coming off their 14th appearance in the NCAA Championships and the 12th in the Judi Pavon era. Two players who were in the lineup at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas open up the 2019-2020 season in the lineup in senior Micheala Williams and sophomore Mikayla Bardwell.
Both players received conference honors a season ago with Williams being named to the All-SEC team while Bardwell was on the SEC All-Freshman team. Williams led Tennessee in nearly every statistical category last season including a 73.14 scoring average, the fourth lowest average in program history.
They will be joined by two players making their debuts in the Lady Vol lineup in freshman Nicole Whiston and sophomore Hadley Walts. Whiston, a top-five ranked junior golfer by Golfweek, is coming off a summer where she qualified for the US Women's Amateur and a semifinal run in the USGA Girls Junior.
Walts made her first appearance as a Lady Vol last season when she competed as an individual at the Mercedes Benz Collegiate Championship.
After making the NCAA Championships last season, Tennessee comes into the season with national recognition by multiple rankings. It is ranked No. 28 in the Golfweek Preseason Top-30 poll while also receiving votes in the initial WGCA Poll.
Tomorrow's first round is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. (ET) at Yeamans Hall. Tennessee will be paired with Auburn and Florida State, teeing off between holes No. 9 to No. 12.
The Lady Vols' Lineup
Nicole Whiston
Whiston, the younger sister of junior Waverly Whiston, is set to take part in her first collegiate event. She comes into college as one of the top recruits in the country, finishing her junior golfers ranked by Golfweek.
Malia Stovall
Stovall finished her freshman campaign second on the team in stroke average with a 73.94 average in 18 rounds. She captured her first collegiate event win at the Starmount Classic, helping the Lady Vols to the tournament win last October.
Micheala Williams
The Athens, Alabama native was one of two Tennessee players to be in the lineup in every event last season. She helped the Lady Vols to their 14th NCAA Championship appearance in school history with a team-best 73.14 stroke average while finishing atop the leaderboard in two events last season.
Mikayla Bardwell
Bardwell, who played in the Tennessee lineup in every tournament during her freshman campaign, finished her first collegiate season with five top-10 finishes including four during the fall season.
Hadley Walts
The Evansville, Indiana native is in the Tennessee lineup for the first time in her collegiate career. This will be her second career event as a collegiate. Last season, she played in the Mercede-Benz Collegiate Championship as an individual in mid-September.
Individual
Waverly Whiston
Whiston enters the season eighth in program history in stroke average with a 74.65 average. Last season, she played in every event either in the lineup or as an individual with a 74.63 average in 35 rounds.
Participating Teams (18)
Tennessee, Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, Campbell, Charleston Southern (individual only), College of Charleston, Florida, Florida State, Furman, Georgetown, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, UCF, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
Course Information
Yeamans Hall – Charleston, S.C. – Par 72 – 6,301 yards
Live Scoring
GolfStat.com
Tee Times
Monday, September 9 – First Round & Second Round – Play starts at 8:45 a.m. ET in a shotgun start
Tuesday, September 10 – Third Round – Play starts at 8:45 a.m. ET in a shotgun start with groups being determined based on team positioning after round two
The field features an 18-team field with the Lady Vols as one of five Southeastern Conference teams to participate in the tournament. There will be six WGCA top-20 teams in the tournament field. The Lady Vols were receiving votes in the poll to enter the season.
The Lady Vols are coming off their 14th appearance in the NCAA Championships and the 12th in the Judi Pavon era. Two players who were in the lineup at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas open up the 2019-2020 season in the lineup in senior Micheala Williams and sophomore Mikayla Bardwell.
Both players received conference honors a season ago with Williams being named to the All-SEC team while Bardwell was on the SEC All-Freshman team. Williams led Tennessee in nearly every statistical category last season including a 73.14 scoring average, the fourth lowest average in program history.
They will be joined by two players making their debuts in the Lady Vol lineup in freshman Nicole Whiston and sophomore Hadley Walts. Whiston, a top-five ranked junior golfer by Golfweek, is coming off a summer where she qualified for the US Women's Amateur and a semifinal run in the USGA Girls Junior.
Walts made her first appearance as a Lady Vol last season when she competed as an individual at the Mercedes Benz Collegiate Championship.
After making the NCAA Championships last season, Tennessee comes into the season with national recognition by multiple rankings. It is ranked No. 28 in the Golfweek Preseason Top-30 poll while also receiving votes in the initial WGCA Poll.
Tomorrow's first round is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. (ET) at Yeamans Hall. Tennessee will be paired with Auburn and Florida State, teeing off between holes No. 9 to No. 12.
The Lady Vols' Lineup
Nicole Whiston
Whiston, the younger sister of junior Waverly Whiston, is set to take part in her first collegiate event. She comes into college as one of the top recruits in the country, finishing her junior golfers ranked by Golfweek.
Malia Stovall
Stovall finished her freshman campaign second on the team in stroke average with a 73.94 average in 18 rounds. She captured her first collegiate event win at the Starmount Classic, helping the Lady Vols to the tournament win last October.
Micheala Williams
The Athens, Alabama native was one of two Tennessee players to be in the lineup in every event last season. She helped the Lady Vols to their 14th NCAA Championship appearance in school history with a team-best 73.14 stroke average while finishing atop the leaderboard in two events last season.
Mikayla Bardwell
Bardwell, who played in the Tennessee lineup in every tournament during her freshman campaign, finished her first collegiate season with five top-10 finishes including four during the fall season.
Hadley Walts
The Evansville, Indiana native is in the Tennessee lineup for the first time in her collegiate career. This will be her second career event as a collegiate. Last season, she played in the Mercede-Benz Collegiate Championship as an individual in mid-September.
Individual
Waverly Whiston
Whiston enters the season eighth in program history in stroke average with a 74.65 average. Last season, she played in every event either in the lineup or as an individual with a 74.63 average in 35 rounds.
Participating Teams (18)
Tennessee, Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, Campbell, Charleston Southern (individual only), College of Charleston, Florida, Florida State, Furman, Georgetown, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, UCF, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
Course Information
Yeamans Hall – Charleston, S.C. – Par 72 – 6,301 yards
Live Scoring
GolfStat.com
Tee Times
Monday, September 9 – First Round & Second Round – Play starts at 8:45 a.m. ET in a shotgun start
Tuesday, September 10 – Third Round – Play starts at 8:45 a.m. ET in a shotgun start with groups being determined based on team positioning after round two
Players Mentioned
WGolf | Diana Cantú | NCAA Championships - Round Three (5.18.25)
Sunday, May 18
WGolf | Bailey Davis | NCAA Championships - Round One (5.16.25)
Friday, May 16
WGolf | Diana Cantú | NCAA Championships - Round One (5.16.25)
Friday, May 16
WGolf | Diana Cantú Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Round One (10.20.24)
Sunday, October 20