April 18, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 3-ranked Auburn women's golf team carded its lowest round of the tournament, coming in with an even-par 284 in the final round, but its comeback bid fell short as the Tigers finished fifth at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament with a 9-over-par 861.
Hosted by the University of Alabama, the SEC Championship was a 54-hole stroke-play event played at the North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The par-71 course played at 6,057 yards for the tournament.
Auburn rallied early in the round and moved up to third place at one point, but a tough stretch down the back nine dropped the Tigers to fifth.
"I thought we were off to a fair start and we finished up very slow," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "With that, we dropped a few shots coming in. Around holes 9, 10 and 11, I felt like we had a good chance to win. The scores started going our way and we had a few birdies and I felt like if we could come in around four or five under we would have a chance, but we did not."
With the completion of the conference championship, the Tigers now await the decision of the NCAA Tournament committee regarding the location of its NCAA Regional. Slated to run May 6-8, Auburn will have a couple weeks of downtime to recover and prepare for the tournament.
"On a high note, I saw some great things out of everyone on the team, which will help us prepare during the next few weeks," said Evans. "But, on the low side, we did not come over here to do anything but win and with that, we are disappointed and have a lot of work to do for postseason."
Three Tigers finished the tournament in the top 20, led by junior Cydney Clanton and sophomore Haley Wilson in a tie for seventh with 1-under-par 212s. Clanton carded four final-round birdies to finish with a 1-under 70, finishing the tournament at 72-70-70--212. Wilson also carded a 1-under 70 in the final round to finish with rounds of 71-71-70--212.
Senior Candace Schepperle also finished in the top 20, carded a 1-over-par 72 to finish the tournament in a tie for 17th at 3-over 216. She remained consistent for the Tigers throughout the tournament, posting a 1-over 72 in each of the rounds.
"Candace, Cydney and Haley were consistent and I like that," said Evans. "They are hanging their heads on very good scores right now, but a lot of times a team needs to have consistent play from some individuals and that helps you relax so that you can go low.
"Haley did a great job. Cydney and Candace both played very well, the putts just did not fall, but they have to at championships. We saw great things, we just feel like the air has been let out because we did not win, we did not contend and that is what we came here to do."
Also posting a 1-over 72 in the final round was sophomore Patricia Sanz. Carding her best round of the tournament, Sanz moved up to 41st with a tournament-total 78-75-72--225. Freshman Carlie Yadloczky rounded out the lineup for Auburn, carding a final-round 76. She finished in 50th with rounds of 74-80-76--230.
In the team race, Alabama took the title with a 4-under-par 848. Vanderbilt came in second with an even-par 852, followed by Arkansas in third (859), Georgia in fourth (860) and Auburn in fifth (861). LSU rounded out the top half of the field with a 14-over-par 866.
In the lower half of the standings, South Carolina finished seventh at 15-over 867, followed by Ole Miss at 24-over 876 and Tennessee at 25-over 877. Florida finished 10th at 37-over 889 while Kentucky placed 11th with a 54-over-par 906. Mississippi State rounded out the field with a 73-over 925.
Individually, Vanderbilt's Marina Alex and Tennessee's Erica Popson finished in a tie for first with 5-under-par 208s. Alex won the sudden-death playoff on the second hole. Georgia's Marta Silva finished third with a 4-under 209, followed by Arkansas' Kelli Shean in fourth at 3-under 210. Ole Miss' Sara Grantham and Alabama's Brooke Pancake finished in a tie for fifth with 2-under 211s.
Auburn will return to action May 6-8 at the NCAA Regional Championship. The Tigers will either be sent to the East Regional in Greenville, N.C. (East Carolina), West Regional in Palo Alto, Calif. (Stanford) or the Central Regional in Bloomington, Ind. (Indiana).
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Final results from the Southeastern Conference Tournament hosted by the University of Alabama at the North River Yacht Club. Par: 71. Yardage: 6,057.
TEAM RESULTS
1 - Alabama - 287-278-283--848 (-4)
2 - Vanderbilt - 284-281-287--852 (E)
3 - Arkansas - 280-288-291--859 (+7)
4 - Georgia - 280-291-289--860 (+8)
5 - Auburn - 289-288-284--861 (+9)
6 - LSU - 284-290-292--866 (+14)
7 - South Carolina - 289-290-288--867 (+15)
8 - Ole Miss - 284-298-294--876 (+24)
9 - Tennessee - 298-291-288--877 (+25)
10 - Florida - 298-300-291--889 (+37)
11 - Kentucky - 302-296-308--906 (+54)
12 - Mississippi State - 309-301-315--925 (+73)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T7 - Cydney Clanton - 72-70-70--212 (-1)
T7 - Haley Wilson - 71-71-70--212 (-1)
T17 - Candace Schepperle - 72-72-72--216 (+3)
41 - Patricia Sanz - 78-75-72--225 (+12)
50 - Carlie Yadloczky - 74-80-76--230 (+17)