March 12, 2011

Second Round Results

By Zach Stipe, Media Relations Assistant

BATON ROUGE, La. - Led by a trio of 74 scores, the 16th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vol golf team is just one shot back of first-place with 18 holes remaining at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic at the University Club.

Sophomores Erica Popson and Sara Monberg and freshman Chessey Thomas each tallied 2-over 74s, as the Big Orange recorded a 9-over 297 day two total on Saturday. UT's 36-hole score of 602 (+26) has it tied for fifth with No. 4 Duke.

No. 1 Alabama, Arkansas, No. 7 Virginia and No. 17 Wake Forest are tied for first with 601 (+25) totals.

The Lady Vols will tee off in a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. CST for Sunday's final round in a group with Duke, Texas A&M and LSU. Live scoring will be provided by golfstat.com.

"It is really tough out there," Lady Vol head coach Judi Pavon said. "The greens are elevated and very firm. Our players stayed patient during a long round and finished strong to put themselves in position to win tomorrow. I was very impressed with the play of our freshmen today. Sara (Monberg) stayed tough and finished well, while Erica (Popson) was solid from start to finish."

Monberg overcame a double-bogey on No. 3 to play even par the rest of the round and tally four birdies. She is tied for 16th with a 76-74=150 (+6) two-day total.

Popson had a pair of birdies on the par-72, 6.186-yard course and is tied for 22nd with a 77-74=151 (+7).

Thomas was 1-under through nine holes, but had three bogeys on the back nine. The Spokane, Wash., native is tied for 29th at 78-74=152 (+8).

Rounding out the lineup for the Lady Vols were freshman Kaitlyn Rohrback (75) and junior Nathalie Mansson (83). Rohrback opened the day with a double bogey and back-to-back bogeys, but played one-under-par golf the rest of the round. She is tied for 49th with an 81-75=156 (+12) score, while Mansson is tied for 51st at 74-83=157 (+13).

Tennessee will be looking to capture their second title of the season. UT won the Mercedes-Benz Women's Collegiate Championships for the second consecutive year in October. Pavon has guided the Lady Vols to 14 victories over 11 seasons.