March 28, 2003

GREENSBORO, N.C.

The No. 10 University of Tennessee Lady Vol golf squad opened up in a solid fifth-place tie, among a stern field that includes nine Top 25 squads, with a nine-over 298 at the 2003 Bryan National Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C. The Lady Vols are 12 strokes off the lead pace set by the Duke Blue Devils with a 286. Individually, Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) fired a two-under 70, which is just one shot shy of tourney leaders Duke's Kristina Engstrom and South Carolina's Kristy McPherson's pair of 69s. Shepley's first round stands as the seventh par-or-under round of her career.

Junior Tai Perry (Unionville, Pa.) continued her recent resurgence as a top contributor to the Big Orange cause with a 16th-place tying two-over 74, while freshman Violeta Retamoza (Aguascalientes, Mexico) carded a three-over 75 to tie for 26th-place. Junior Mary Jan Fernandez (Henderson, Nev.) posted a 79 to tie for 58th-place, while rookie Golda Johansson (Lund, Sweden) remained in her current slump with a 77th-place tying 83.

UT continues the Bryan National Collegiate with a second-round Saturday and concludes the tourney Sunday with a final-round shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

Bryan National Intercollegiate
At Bryan Park (Greensboro, N.C.)