Lady Vols start 16th in golf

The drive for five got off to a slow start for the University of Tennessee women's golf team.

The Lady Vols are shooting for their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament berth, but they fired a first-round 23-over-par 311 at the NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga., on Thursday.

The 17th-ranked Lady Vols sit in 16th place of the 21-team event knowing only the top eight advance to the NCAA finals May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M.

UT went to Athens without the services of senior Angela Oh when she opted for a pro career at the conclusion of the SEC tournament.

Lady Vols coach Judi Pavon decided on a lineup of senior Marci Turner, junior Nicole Smith, sophomores Diana Cantu and Ginny Brown, and freshman Rebecca Watson.

Turner showed her veteran leadership with a team-leading 1-over 73 and is tied for 17th in the individual standings. The second-team All-SEC selection was 1-under with four holes remaining, but bogeyed two of them.

Cantu finished strong to shoot a 74, but the remaining Lady Vols struggled. Smith and Brown each finished with scores of 82 and Watson, playing in just her sixth collegiate tournament, an 85.

Top-ranked Duke lived up to its advance billing by shooting 285 to take a five-stroke lead over No. 5-ranked Florida. South Carolina is third at 291 and Furman fourth at 292.

Tenth-ranked Auburn is tied for sixth (296), No. 8-ranked Georgia ninth (299) and Vanderbilt tied for 12th (308).

On the individual leaderboard, Louisville's Sara-Maude Juneau shot 67 to lead by one shot.

Football: UT center Josh McNeil is one of 42 players named to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation's top college center.

Four other SEC centers were named to the list, including last year's winner, Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs.

McNeil, a junior and native of Collins, Miss., has started 23 consecutive games for the Vols and earned honorable mention on the Associated Press's All-SEC team last season. He was a unanimous selection to the freshman All-SEC coaches' team in 2006.

The Rimington Trophy goes to the player with the most combined first-team votes from the four major All-America teams: the American Football Coaches Association, the Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America.

Men's Golf: UT freshman Robin Wingardh has been named to the SEC Men's Golf All-Freshman Team.

Wingardh has competed in every tournament for the Vols and has a 73.07 scoring average along with nine rounds of par-or-better and two top-10 finishes. He has also finished in the top 25 in six tournaments.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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