Bardwell, Lady Vols in Contention Following Opening Round of Liz Murphey Collegiate

Friday, November 6

Athens, GA | UGA Golf Course

University of Tennessee

Liz Murphey Fall Collegiate Classic

Bardwell, Lady Vols in Contention Following Opening Round of Liz Murphey Collegiate

November 06, 2020 | Women's Golf

Results

ATHENS, Ga. – Three players inside the top-20 and another impressive outing from junior Mikayla Bardwell, carried the Tennessee women's golf team to a 4-over par (292) performance, placing the Lady Vols in a tie for second following the opening round of the Liz Murphey Fall Collegiate Classic.

"We played really solid today and everyone stayed in their rounds the whole way," head coach Judi Pavon said. " Mikayla's round really helped out the team, but we also didn't have a really high score anywhere in the lineup."

Bardwell's consistent performance saw her card three birdies on the Lady Vols front nine and her first bogey-free round of the season (-3, 69). It was also her third round of par of better this year, placing her in a tie atop the leaderboard with Georgia's Isabella Holpfer and Caroline Craig heading into day two.

"Mikayla has played well all Fall and had another good round today. She is doing a great job of getting under par early in her round, which frees her up later in the day," Pavon continued.

Graduate student Micheala Williams matched Bardwell's three front nine birdies and finished round one with a score of +1 (73). Williams is in a tie for 13th after round one.

Behind Williams was sophomore Nicole Whiston who rounded out Tennessee's top-20 performers, sitting in a tie for 20th after an opening round score of 2-over (74).

Whiston ended the day strong, closing her round with three consecutive birdies on holes seven, eight and nine. She was the only competitor to card three consecutive birdies at any point on the day.

"Nicole has been hitting the ball really well, but hasn't been making the putts she usually makes, so it was awesome to see them finally go in to end the day today. That really helped the team out and she has some confidence going into tomorrow," Pavon said.

Freshman Vanessa Gilly accounted for Tennessee's final counting score of the day, finishing with a 4-over par score of 76. Gilly rebounded after a tough start to the back nine, holing 2 birdies in the final four holes of the Lady Vols front nine. She sits in a tie for 39th after the tournament's opening round.

Competing in her second collegiate tournament since arriving at Tennessee, redshirt-sophomore Shelby Liford's score of +4 (76) ties Gilly on the day and wraps up the Lady Vols' lineup.

Individual Scores
T-1. Mikayla Bardwell, -3 (69)
T-12. Micheala Williams, +1 (73)
T-19. Nicole Whiston, +2 (74)
T-38. Vanessa Gilly, +4 (76)
T-38. Shelby Liford, +4 (76)

Team Scores
1. Georgia, E (288)
T-2. Vanderbilt, +4 (292)
T-2. Tennessee, +4 (292)
T-2. LSU, +4 (292)
T-2. Mississippi State, +4 (292)
6. Auburn, +5 (293)
T-7. Arkansas, +8 (296)
T-7. Kentucky, +8 (296)
9. Texas A&M, +11 (299)
10. Alabama, +15 (303)
11. Georgia (B), +17 (305)
12. Missouri, +21 (309)

Tee Times
Saturday, Nov. 7 – Second Round – Times beginning at 9:15 a.m. ET with Georgia and Vanderbilt.
Sunday, Nov. 8 – Third Round – TBD based on Saturday's results