Vols Finish Second, On To Match Play at SEC Championships

Friday, April 23

St. Simon's Island, GA | Seaside Golf Course

ALL DAY

University of Tennessee

SEC Championship

Vols Finish Second, On To Match Play at SEC Championships

April 23, 2021 | Men's Golf

Team Leaderboard Player Leaderboard

SEA ISLAND, Ga. – The Tennessee men's golf team wrapped up its final round of stroke play Friday at the SEC Championships, finishing tied for second place.

With the second-place finish, the Vols now advance to match play with the other top eight teams. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled to take place on Saturday, with the finals set for Sunday.

Tennessee finished in a tie with Alabama and LSU for second place, and by tiebreaker received the No. 3 seed for match play. That pairs the Vols with sixth-place-finishing Vanderbilt for the quarterfinal round, which is scheduled to begin at 8:20 a.m. ET.

"I'm really proud of our performance today," head coach Brennan Webb said. "Everyone stepped up and met the challenge of a very tough day and really showed me that they are capable of playing great in any situation that we may face going forward."

"The first goal of the week, making the match play portion of the week, has been accomplished. It's now time to turn the page and go win three matches. We're looking forward to a great challenge tomorrow morning against Vanderbilt."

Spencer Cross, who held steady with a top-five standing at the end of each round, finished in fourth place to lead the Vols' efforts. One of just four golfers in the tournament to shoot below par for the week, Cross finished at 1-under.

Cross' fourth-place finish marks his fourth-career top-five finish and is tied for his second-best finish as Vol. The Sevierville native has now been Tennessee's top finisher in four out of seven tournaments this spring.

"Spencer has been rock solid all week and really provided us with a lot of stability," Webb said. "A top-five finish in the toughest conference in the country is a great accomplishment and he once again proved that he is capable of playing with anyone in the country."

With Cross' fourth-place finish, Tennessee has now had a golfer finish in the top-five at each of the past three SEC Championships, as Cross joins Hunter Wolcott, who tied for fourth place in 2019 and Lorenzo Scalise, who tied for third in 2018.

Building on his impressive showing at the SEC Championships two years ago, Wolcott was the Vols' second-highest finisher during this year's event, shooting 3-over and tying for 12th place.

It marks Wolcott's sixth top-15 finish of the 2020-21 season and additionally is Wolcott's fifth consecutive top-20 finish—a streak that dates back to the LSU Invitational in February.

Bryce Lewis built on a streak of consecutive top-25 finishes, adding a third straight outing with tied-for-20th place finish in Sea Island. Lewis, who shot 4-over for the week, has five top-25 finishes overall this season.

Rhys Nevin contributed two counting rounds during the week for Tennessee and finished tied for 44th place, shooting 9-over for the week.

Brayden Garrison gave Tennessee its second-best round on Friday, shooting even par on the day. Garrison shot 11-over overall for the tournament and finished tied for 53rd place.

Individual Scores
4. Spencer Cross, -1 (209)
T12. Hunter Wolcott, +3 (213)
T20. Bryce Lewis, +4 (214)
T44. Rhys Nevin, +9 (219)
T53. Brayden Garrison, +11 (221)

Team Leaderboard
1. Georgia, +2 (842)
T2. Alabama, +10 (850)
T2. Tennessee, +10 (850)
T2. LSU, +10 (850)
5. Arkansas, +12 (852)
6. Vanderbilt, +13 (853)
7. South Carolina, +15 (855)
8. Texas A&M, +16 (856)
T9. Auburn, +20 (860)
T9. Florida, +20 (860)
11. Kentucky, +26 (866)
12. Ole Miss, +34 (874)
13. Missouri, +37 (877)
14. Mississippi State, +39 (879)

MATCH PLAY SCHEDULE
Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt matchups
Rhys Nevin (UT) vs. Harrison Ott (VU) – 8:20 a.m. ET
Brayden Garrison (UT) vs. Reid Davenport (VU) – 8:30 a.m. ET
Bryce Lewis (UT) vs. Cole Sherwood (VU) – 8:40 a.m. ET
Spencer Cross (UT) vs. Matthew Riedel (VU) – 8:50 a.m. ET
Hunter Wolcott (UT) vs. William Moll (VU) – 9 a.m. ET