Lady Vols golf finished tied for fourth in the Tennessee Spring Challenge, held Monday at Fox Den Country Club. Tennessee finished a combined 23 shots over par across the 36-hole event.
The No. 31 Lady Vols finished 22 shots behind Western Kentucky, who won the event at +1. Tennessee was also beaten by No. 18 Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State.
Monday’s performance was a step back after finishing fourth in much tougher fields at Texas and Clemson during the last two tournaments. It’s something the Lady Vols have to learn from with the SEC Championships fast approaching.
“I think we just need to focus on playing free and being ourselves,” Tennessee head coach Diana Cantú said. “Today, we were a little bit timid, a little bit tight I think from the get-go, and it was a little bit tough to get the day going.”
Monday’s conditions didn’t assist the Lady Vols in gaining momentum. Overcast conditions persisted throughout the one-day tournament, and intermittent showers served to interrupt any run a player could get going.
Other schools, such as the winning Hilltoppers, were able to adapt to the changing conditions throughout the nearly nine-hour day, and Tennessee wasn’t. That ended up being the difference on the leaderboard.
“It can be hard, but it’s being done,” Cantú said. “If we can’t do it, somebody else will. That’s what happened today, and you know, it’s just part of it.”
Those conditions posed trouble for Manassanan Chotikabhukkana. She shot a 1-under 71 in the first round but shot four over par in the second round, finishing in solo eighth.
“It’s pretty challenging because the greens are not very consistent,” Chotikabhukkana said. “The space is a little slower than usual, so it’s a lot to adapt to.”
Chotikabhukkana is developing positive momentum over the course of the spring season. She finished fourth at the Daniel Island Invitational, her best result of the season, and had a strong showing at Clemson before Monday’s top-10 outing.
Chotikabhukkana was Tennessee’s second-best finisher of the day. Sofie Engeseth led Tennessee on the leaderboard, finishing tied for sixth with a 1-over day. The performance was her first top-10 finish since the Mercedes Benz Collegiate Championship at Cherokee Country Club in October.
Martina Lopez Lanchares finished nine-over for the Lady Vols, shooting a 77 in the first round and a 76 in the second round. Kyra Van Kan and Isabella Johnson both shot 10-over and finished tied for 33rd.
Sophie Christopher competed as an individual, finishing tied for 11th at five over par. Bailey Davis shot 7-over as an individual, and Sophie Bierstorfer matched Van Kan and Johnson at 10-over on the individual leaderboard.
Monday’s tournament is the last before the SEC Championship, which begins Monday in Belleair, Florida. The tournament features a very tough field with 10 top-25 teams, but Cantú is confident that her team will turn around after Monday’s performance.
“We tend to learn a lot more from the difficult days, and this is one of them,” Cantú said. “I think they’re going to turn it around and do well at SECs.”
