University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational
Newell Sets Career Marks in Austin
October 15, 2013 | Women's Golf
Oct. 15, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas - The Tennessee women's golf team closed out the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational with a 16th place finish, carding rounds of 299-308-302--909 (+45). The Lady Vols' final round of 302 (+14) consisted of nine birdies, six of which came on the front nine.
Despite the Big Orange struggles, AJ Newell played the tournament of her career. The junior from Tampa, Fla., shot a career best 54-hole score of 218 (+2) to lead the Lady Vols in Austin.
"I was actually surprised to hear this was my best tournament score-wise ever," Newell said. "This season, I've known that I've been really close to playing some great golf and it was great to finally see a glimpse of that today. I think I definitely saw a few things to work on, but it just felt great to get a round under par today to finish with a solid tournament. I still left a few out there every day, but I think that's exciting because it gives me an opportunity to learn and get better."
Newell capped off her great weekend with a career-tying low round of 70 (-2), including four birdies and only two bogeys. Newell finished tied for 26th, her best finish of the season.
Daeun Song also got in the mix on Tuesday, tying a season round low of 73 (+1). The junior from Korea accounted for a third of the Lady Vols' nine final round birdies. Song finished the tournament tied for 72nd.
"Not a great tournament for our team, but we learned a lot about our games and got a chance to see some newer players in action," head coach Judi Pavon said. "AJ Newell had a career best tournament score and Daeun stepped up with two rounds below 75. The course was tough for some of our long hitters and we didn't adjust well and make good decisions."
Rounding out the rest of the Lady Volunteer lineup... freshman Hannah Pietila finished tied for 68th with rounds of 72-79-79--230 (+14), junior Mason Chen tied for 72nd carding rounds of 77-75-80--232 (+16) and sophomore Emmie Pietila finished 91st with scores of 80-81-83--244 (+28).
The Lady Vols are back in action the week of Halloween (Oct. 27-29) when they travel to San Antonio, Texas for the Alamo Invitational.
"The team as a whole needs to get back to Knoxville and focus hard on getting ready for San Antonio," Newell said. "We all know that our team is better than this finish so we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure we are ready for San Antonio."
Volunteer fans can continue to keep up with the team by following @LadyVol_Golf on Twitter.
| TEAM SCORES (Final) | ||
| 1. | UCLA | 281-282-275--838 (-26) |
| 2. | Arizona State | 283-283-282--848 (-16) |
| 3. | Miami | 276-292-291--859 (-5) |
| 4. | Iowa State | 291-282-289--862 (-2) |
| 5. | SMU | 284-296-292--872 (+8) |
| T-6. | Tulane | 288-295-290--873 (+9) |
| T-6. | Mississippi State | 284-291-298--873 (+9) |
| 8. | Denver | 289-293-292--874 (+10) |
| 9. | San Diego State | 290-297-273--860 (+14) |
| 10. | UNLV | 291-296-292--879 (+15) |
| T-11. | UTSA | 292-303-295--890 (+26) |
| T-11. | TCU | 291-304-295--890 (+26) |
| 13. | Texas | 299-302-291--892 (+28) |
| T-14. | Princeton | 301-298-296--895 (+31) |
| T-14. | New Mexico | 299-301-295--895 (+31) |
| 16. | Tennessee | 299-308-302--909 (+45) |
| 17. | Furman | 303-301-307--911 (+47) |
| 18. | Tulsa | 313-312-305--930 (+66) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Final) | ||
| 1. | Alison Lee, UCLA | 69-68-67--204 (-12) |
| T-2. | Bronte Law, UCLA | 69-72-67--208 (-8) |
| T-2. | Dana Finkelstein, UNLV | 71-69-68--208 (-8) |
| UT SCORES (Final) | ||
| T-26. | AJ Newell | 75-73-70--218 (+2) |
| T-68. | Hannah Pietila | 72-79-79--230 (+14) |
| T-72. | Daeun Song | 75-84-73--232 (+16) |
| T-72. | Mason Chen | 77-75-80--232 (+16) |
| 91. | Emmie Pietila | 80-81-83--244 (+28) |
