Feb. 24, 2004

TUCSON, Ariz.

Head Coach Judi Pavon's golf squad bounced back in a big way in its second round of the 2004 Arizona Wildcat Invitational at the Arizona National Golf Club at Sabino Springs in Tucson, Ariz. The orange-clad linksters made a 28-stroke improvement from their initial round by firing an eighth-place-tying 296 for a two-day 620 (324-296). Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt overtook first-day leader Ohio State with a 579 (290-289) to capture a three-shot lead over second-place UCLA's total of 582 (288-294). A trio of golfers share the medal lead as Vanderbilt's May Wood (70-70), OSU's Allison Hanna (68-72) and California's Sophia Sheridan (69-71) each turned in two-round totals of 140.

As for the Big Orange, team captain Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) fired a one-over 72 en route to a two-day 153 (81-72) to vault into a 24th-place tie, while sophomore Violeta Retamoza (Aguascalientes, Mexico) tied for 31st place with a 154 (78-76). Senior Tai Perry (Unionville, Pa.) made an 11-stroke improvement from day one to jump into a 43rd-place tie with a 157 (84-73), while sophomore Golda Johansson (Lund, Sweden) recorded a 12-shot turnaround to post a 57th-place-tying 162 (87-75). Junior Teesha Ash (Chattanooga, Tenn.) rounded out the UT effort with a two-round 164 (81-83) to finish the day in 61st place. Playing as an individual, freshman Holly Cantwell (Morristown, Tenn.) tied for 43rd place with a 157 (81-76). Tennessee concludes the Wildcat on Wednesday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. MT.

* - played as an individual