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• Arkansas stuns slumping Auburn, 25-22
• Mississippi State ends Vandy's perfect start, 17-14
• South Carolina tops Kentucky again

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LOUDON - Arkansas senior Stacy Lewis considers herself a placement golfer.

"I like to think my way around a golf course," said Lewis, who shot a 3-under-par 69 to take the first-round lead at the SEC women's golf championship on Friday. "Sometimes being off the green is better than being on it."

Tennessee National, site of this year's tournament, is ideal for playing position golf, she added. "You have to pick out your spots and forget about where the flag is," she said.

The 2007 NCAA individual champion also knows how to find a good place on the leader board. Lewis has a two-shot lead over Dori Carter of Mississippi and Krystle Caithness of Georgia.

Lewis also helped Arkansas tie for the team lead with Florida at 9-over 297.

Georgia and South Carolina are in third at 300, followed by Alabama (307), Vanderbilt (308), Mississippi (309), Auburn and LSU (310), Tennessee (316) Mississippi State (319) and Kentucky (326)

Tennessee coach Judi Pavon said this was the first SEC tournament for Ginny Brown and Rebecca Watson, so she expected a little first-round nervousness for the Lady Vols.

However, she hopes the nervousness changes to satisfaction by the end of Sunday's final round.

"If we can move up a little each day, we can have a decent showing," she said.

One bright spot was senior Marci Turner, whose 73 put her in a tie for sixth place, one stroke behind Benedicte Toumpsin of South Carolina and Tiffany Chudy of Florida.

Turner, who has finished runner-up in the SEC twice, said her score was worse than she played.

"I hit some really good putts, but only one of them went in," she said. "I gave myself plenty of chances, but I did not capitalize on them."

Among the other Lady Vols, Watson had a 79, Angela Oh had an 80, Diana Cantu had an 84, and Brown had an 85.

Nicole Smith, who is usually one of the top Lady Vols, was unable to make the top five during recent team qualifying, Pavon said, adding that she has also battled a shoulder ailment.

Lewis, who started on the back nine, birdied three of the first six holes. What eventually slowed her down was not the course but the wind.

"I am feeling really good about it," said the Houston area resident, who tied for fifth at the 2007 Kraft Nabisco LPGA tournament. "I made some putts today."

Farragut High School graduates Erika Thornton of Mississippi State and Jillian Brodd of Ole Miss had a 77 and 79, respectively.

Because of the expected rain, today's second round will begin at 11 a.m., with Tennessee among the first golfers to tee off.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.