Brown's best doesn't lift the Lady Vols at SEC

Ginny Brown achieved the best finish of her Tennessee career Sunday afternoon.

The Lady Vols weren't able to duplicate the feat at the SEC Women's Golf Championships.

Brown fired a career-best four-over-par 217 and tied for sixth in the individual standings.

Tennessee, meanwhile, couldn't improve on its fourth-place standing, shooting a final-round 293 to finish at 881. Auburn shot past Arkansas to win the team title by eight shots with an 870 score at the Cobblestone Park Golf Club in Blythewood, S.C.

"We put ourselves in a position to win today and that is something we haven't done all season,'' Lady Vols coach Judi Pavon said. "We played the back nine real well and showed a lot of toughness today."

Brown, a junior, shot a final-round 71 to finish seven strokes behind individual champion Marta Silva of Georgia. Brown's previous best score was 220 at the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Women's Collegiate Championships. Her previous best finish (tied for 19th) came at the same event.

"My goal was to finish top-10, so I'm really excited,'' said Brown, who scored a hole-in-one on Saturday. "This was my best finish ever, but I feel like I should be playing this well every time out. One thing I've really improved from last year is my putting. I switched my putting style which has made a big difference. The coaches have taught me a lot and helped my short game."

Nicole Smith and Nathalie Mansson tied for 13th for Tennessee.

Smith, who started the round tied for ninth after shooting a 69 on Saturday, shot a final-round 75 and finished at 220. It was the third top-15 finish of the senior's career at the SEC event.

Mansson, a freshman, shot a final-round 73, recovering from a 4-over start on the first seven holes.

Diana Cantu (224) finished tied for 26th. Lauren Spurlock (234) tied for 45th.

Men's Golf: Despite Tennessee's best round of the weekend (292), the Vols couldn't rise above 11th place at the SEC Men's Golf Championships, played on St. Simons Island, Ga. UT shot an 888, 39 strokes behind champion Georgia.

Robin Wingardh was UT's top individual finisher in 16th (218).

"Obviously this was a huge disappointment for us, especially given that we had such high hopes for this championship,'' UT coach Jim Kelson said.

David Holmes (222) tied for 31st. Chris Paisley (224) tied for 37th, and Darren Renwick (225) tied for 39th. Cameron Lawrence (233) tied for 56th

Rowing: Tennessee scored 10 points on the final day of the Lake Natoma Invitational in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

The Lady Vols second Varsity 8 shell won its final in 6:46.90, beating Minnesota and UCLA.

Tennessee finished third in both the Varsity 4 and Varsity 8 finals.

"We appreciate the opportunity we had to be involved in such a well-constructed event,'' Lady Vols coach Lisa Glenn said. "Cal athletics and (head coach) Dave O'Neill did a fantastic job of making the event productive and positive for everyone."

Volleyball: The Lady Vols tandem of Nikki Fowler and Kylie Marshall won four playoff matches to win the Gold Division Championship at the SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships in Siesta Key, Fla., on Saturday.

The event was part of the Fiesta on Siesta Key, one of the largest beach volleyball events in the country.

"The quality of competition was much higher than I had anticipated and every team just continued to get better and better as the day went on,'' UT coach Rob Patrick said.