The SEC Championship began in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday, where the Rebels sat in fifth place after day one with a score of 292 (+4).
“Today was a solid start for our team,” head coach Kory Henkes said. “We did a lot of things really well in the windy conditions. The team also did a great job of managing our mistakes and they battled hard all day long.”
The team maintained their position on the leaderboard after the second round of play, with a two-day team score of 590 (+14).
After an impressive third round, logging a 286 (-2), Ole Miss was able to secure a spot in the SEC Championship quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed. This marks the fourth consecutive SEC Championship that the Rebels have qualified for match play.
Ole Miss ultimately fell 3-2 to No. 5 Florida in the quarterfinals, battling through wet conditions. The teams were forced to finish out the back half of their matches on Saturday, after Friday’s play was paused due to darkness.
After heavy rainfall Saturday morning, the Rebels finished out their quarterfinal rounds under difficult circumstances.
Junior Andrea Lignell was able to get a point for the Rebels after defeating Florida’s Marina Escobar Domingo 1-up in 20 holes. Lignell trailed her opponent by one heading into the final hole of the match, but defeated Escobar Domingo on No. 9 to send the pair into playoff holes. After two extra holes to determine a winner, Lignell secured the win on No. 11.
Senior Julia Johnson came up with a 2&1 victory against Maisie Filler to get the Rebels another point on the board. Johnson gained a lead on hole No. 13 and kept it the rest of the match.
Despite this, the Rebels were unable to come up with another match play win needed to secure the team victory against the Gators. Chiara Tamburlini (4&3), Natasha Host Husted (2&1) and Maddie May (6&5) fought persistently throughout their matches, but ultimately came up short.
The Rebels will now wait on the NCAA Regional Selection Show to determine the team’s postseason fate. This year’s regionals, set for May 9-11, will be hosted by Vanderbilt, Michigan, Stanford, New Mexico, Florida State and Oklahoma State.
Individual Scores:
T9. Chiara Tamburlini: 70-79-68–217 (+1)
T9. Julia Johnson: 74-73-70–217 (+1)
T26. Natacha Host Husted: 78-73-71–222 (+6)
T34. Andrea Lignell: 74-73-77–224 (+8)
T57. McKinley Cunningham: 74-80-79–233 (+17)
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS VS. FLORIDA
- Andrea Lignell (Ole Miss) def. Marina Escobar Domingo (Florida) – 1-up (20 holes)
- Annabell Fuller (Florida) def. Chiara Tamburlini (Ole Miss) – 4&3
- Clara Manzalini (Florida) def. Natacha Host Husted (Ole Miss) – 2&1
- Julia Johnson (Ole Miss) def. Maisie Filler (Florida) – 2&1
- Jackie Lucena (Florida) def. Maddie May (Ole Miss) – 6&5
