TENNESSEE 2011-12 LADY VOLUNTEER GOLF
2012 Southeastern Conference Championship |April 20-22, 2012 | Blessings Golf Club| Fayetteville, Ark.
The Conference Championship... In the Hunt
The Lady Vols have never won an SEC Women’s Golf Championship, but they are expected to be in contention this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark., led by junior and defending SEC individual champion Erica Popson. Tennessee has three second-place finishes at the SEC Championship all-time, last earning runner-up honors in 2006. This season, the competition is expected to be extraordinarily stiff as there are currently eight conference teams in the Golfstat Top-25.
Looking Back at the 2011 SEC Championships
Tennessee recorded a sixth-place effort at the 2011 SEC Championships in Auburn, Ala. tallying a three-day total of 895 (+31). Then-sophomore Erica Popson took medalist honors, becoming only UT’s second individual SEC Champion in program history. She lost the 2010 conference championship in a playoff. Four of five Lady Vols from the 2011 Championships return to the lineup in 2012. Along with Popson, senior Nathalie Mansson, junior Sara Monberg and sophomore Kaitlyn Rohrback represent Tennessee again this year.
Lady Vols on a Roll
Tennessee has won two of its last three tournaments, winning the LSU Tiger Golf Classic, coming in third at the Anuenue Spring Break Classic and most recently coming out on top at the Bryan National Collegiate. The Lady Vols have posted a 39-2 record in their last three tournaments. Popson finished the Tiger Classic in a tie for first place and led the Lady Vols at Bryan National with a tied-for-third placement. Freshman AJ Newell led UT in Hawai’i, posting a tied-for-fourth finish at the Anuenue Classic.
Golfweek Team of the Week
The Lady Vol golf team was recognized by Golfweek as Team of the Week after Tennessee took home its second tournament title of the spring with a playoff win at the Bryan National Collegiate. The Lady Vols outlasted No. 9 Duke in a playoff to win the Bryan National Collegiate. Duke shot a final-round-best 289 to tie Tennessee (298) after regulation play at 18-over 882, but the Lady Vols made four pars to Duke's three pars and a double bogey in a team playoff at the 18th hole for the victory.
National Team Selections
BY THE NUMBERS
Tennessee boasts two players selected to represent their respective countries on the 201112 squad: juniors Erica Popson (United States) and Sara Monberg (Denmark). Monberg will represent Denmark as a member of the Danish National Team while Popson was named one of eight members of the Curtis Cup team that will compete in Scotland in June.
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GOLFWEEK The Lady Vols take the 13th slot in the most recent Golfweek Rankings. (4/15)
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GOLFSTAT The Orange and White has broken into the top ten in the Golfstat Rankings. (4/19)
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NGCA/COACHES Tennessee sits in 12th in the Golf World/ NGCA Coaches Poll, rising two slots. (4/18)
UT has compiled an 87-53-5 (.625) record on the season, including two team victories at LSU and Bryan National.
LADY VOL SCHEDULE // RESULTS Date Tournament Sept. 11-13 Cougar Classic 289-292-286=867 (+3) T7th/22 Sept. 23-25 Fall Preview 303-308-313=924 (+60) 17th/18 Oct. 7-9 Tar Heel Invitational 293-290-287=870 (+6) T6th/18 Oct. 21-23 SEC/Pac-12 Challenge 291-292-297=880 (+16) T4th/23 March 2-4 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate 305-303=608 (+40) T9th/15 March 9-11 LSU Tiger Golf Classic 298-289-293=880 (+16) 1st/14 Mar. 26-27 Anuenue Spring Break Classic 299-293-300=892 (+28) 3rd/13 April 6-8 Bryan National Collegiate 293-291-298=882 (+18) T1st/17* April 20-22 SEC Championship *won tournament in playoff
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUP 1. Erica Popson // Jr. // Davenport, Fla. Defending SEC Individual Champion 2. Nathalie Mansson // Sr. // Stockholm, Sweden 3. Kaitlyn Rohrback // So. // Crofton, Md. 4. Sara Monberg // Jr. // Julesminde, Denmark 5. AJ Newell // Fr. // Tampa, Fla.
UT MEDIA RELATIONS Megan Spedden | Media Relations Graduate Assistant Cell 757.335.1951 | Email mspedden@utk.edu Facebook: www.facebook.com/LVGolf Twitter: www.twitter.com/LadyVol_Golf