Tennessee has hung its share of Southeastern Conference championship banners over the years.
None, however, were raised by the Lady Vols in golf. Until now.
Pulling out a 3-2 victory over Auburn in a tense title match Tuesday at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., Tennessee capped a typically unpredictable week in the deepest conference in Division I women’s golf by capturing the program’s first SEC crown.
Tennessee began the week at No. 18 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings. With their victory in the SEC Championship, a program record fourth team title in the wraparound 2025-2026 season, the Lady Vols moved up to No. 16 and they will carry a ton of momentum into whatever NCAA regional they land in when regional play gets under way May 11.
The regional bids will be revealed in a Golf Channel broadcast Wednesday.
The SEC final came down to a match between Tennessee’s Kara Van Kan, a sophomore from South Africa, and Auburn’s Carys Worby, a redshirt senior from Wales.
With the overall match tied at 2-2, Van Kan had a 1-up lead when Worby gave herself a birdie look with a nice approach to seven feet at the par-4 17th hole. Van Kan’s approach was better as she stuck it to three feet.
After Worby’s birdie try slid by, Van Kan calmly holed her birdie putt to seal a 2 and 1 victory and set off the celebration by the Lady Vols. Caught replay on The Golf Channel Thursday morning and the Tennessee ladies were exuberant, to say the least.
This has been coming. Tennessee reached the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa a year ago by finishing in fourth place as a six seed in the Lubbock Regional.
The Lady Vols were in striking distance of a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa going into the final round of 72 holes of qualifying, but came up short.
Still, an SEC title seemed unlikely. Sure, Tennessee was No. 18 in the Scoreboard rankings going into qualifying for stroke play at Pelican. Problem was, there were seven SEC teams ranked ahead of the Lady Vols.
Tennessee cleared its first hurdle when it finished in sixth place in 54 holes of qualifying for match play with a 2-over 842 total. One of the casualties during qualifying was Arkansas, which came to Pelican ranked sixth and widely considered a national championship contender.
The Razorbacks faltered in the final round and finished in a tie for 10th place with a 6-over 846 total.
In Monday’s challenging quarterfinal/semifinal day of high-level match play, the Lady Vols got past Oklahoma, which moved up from No. 27 to No. 24 in the Scoreboard rankings following the SEC Championship, 4-1, and then knocked off Texas A&M, which maintained its No.-4 ranking, 3-2, in the semifinals to earn a spot in the final.
The golf gods smiled on Tennessee in the semifinal when Sofie Engesaeth, a freshman from Norway, was trailing Texas A&M’s Sky Sudberry, a junior from The Woodlands, Texas, 1-down, heading to the 18th hole.
It looked like Engesaeth’s approach at 18 was headed for the water when it landed on a sprinkler head and bounced onto the green. She converted her birdie try to send the match to the 19th hole, where she pulled out the victory that clinched a 3-2 win for the Lady Vols.
In the title match, Tennessee got a pair of dominant match wins from Sophie Christopher, a sophomore from Germantown, Tenn. who rolled to a 6 and 5 victory over Auburn’s Katie Cranston, a veteran senior from Canada, and Engesaeth, who cruised to a 6 and 5 decision over Charlotte Cantonis, a freshman from Tampa, Fla.
All Cantonis had done a day earlier was claim a 4 and 3 victory over Florida’s Paula Francisco, a junior from Spain and No. 29 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who had been crowned the SEC’s individual champion in qualifying for match play.
It was a win that propelled Auburn to a 3-2 semifinal victory over the powerful Gators, at No. 3 the highest-ranked SEC team in the Scoreboard rankings.
Auburn, which maintained its No.-8 spot in the Scoreboard rankings following its runnerup showing at Pelican, had put two points on the board in the title match as Anna Davis, the Tigers’ junior leader from Spring Valley, Calif. and No. 21 in the Women’s WAGR, earned a 2 and 1 victory over the Lady Vols’ Manassanan Chotikabhukk, a senior from Thailand, and Molly Brown Davidson, a sophomore from Springville, Ala., captured a 5 and 4 win over Madison Messimer, a freshman from Myrtle Beach, S.C. and No. 79 in the Women’s WAGR.
But Van Kan responded with her hard-fought victory over Worby to break the 2-2 tie and give Tennessee the title.
In addition to Engesaeth’s decisive win that gave the Lady Vols a semifinal victory over Texas A&M., Van Kan rolled to a 4 and 3 decision over Brynn Kort, a freshman from Kingman, Ariz., and Messimer claimed a 3 and 1 verdict over Natalie Yen, a freshman from West Linn, Ore.
The Aggies got full points from Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, a junior from Spain and No. 34 in the Women’s WAGR who earned a 2 and 1 victory over Chotikabhukk, and Vanessa Borovilos, a sophomore from Canada and No. 22 in the Women’s WAGR who knocked off Christopher with a 5 and 4 decision.
In addition to Cantonis’ stunning upset of Francisco, Auburn got full points from Cranston, who captured a 2 and 1 win over Addison Klonowski, a sophomore from Naples, Fla., and Brown Davidson, who pulled out a 1-up decision over Siuue Wu, a sophomore from Hong Kong, in its semifinal win over Florida.
Florida had gotten off to a great start when Megan Propeck, a graduate student from Leawood, Kan. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, edged Davis, the talented left-hander, 2 and 1, and Katelyn Huber, a freshman from Gainesville, Fla., cruised to a 5 and 3 victory over Worby.
Van Kan began her 3-0 match-play run with a 2 and 1 victory over Oklahoma’s Gracie Mayo, a senior from Wales, in Tennessee’s quarterfinal victory Monday morning. Engesaeth began her 3-0 run through the match-play bracket by rolling to a 6 and 4 decision over Audrey Rischer, a sophomore from Columbia, Mo.
The Lady Vols also got match wins from Chortikabhukk and Messimer to advance to Monday afternoon’s semifinals.
The highlight of Monday morning’s quarterfinals was a meeting between a couple of ancient rivals in Texas A&M and Texas, which maintained its No.-5 spot in the Scoreboard rankings in the aftermath of the SEC Championship.
If Texas joining the SEC did nothing else, it rekindled one of the best rivalries in college sports, no matter the sport.
Texas had finished in a tie for second place with Oklahoma at 3-under 837 in qualifying for match play and was awarded the two seed. Texas A&M shared seventh place with Vanderbilt, the two teams rounding out the match-play bracket at 3-over 843, with the Aggies getting the seven seed.
It was Texas A&M, however, that moved on to the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over the Longhorns.
Kort got a big point for the Aggies with a 3 and 2 victory over Lauren Kim, a junior from Canada and No. 64 in the Women’s WAGR.
Texas A&M’s big guns did the rest as Fernandez Garcia-Poggio cruised to a 5 and 4 victory over Selina Liao, a junior from Taiwan, and Borovilos rolled to a 6 and 5 decision over Angela Hao, a senior from Murrietta, Calif.
The Aggies got a valiant effort from Sudberry who took her match with Texas’ Farah O’Keefe, a junior home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR, to the 18th hole before suffering a 2-up setback.
Texas’ other point came from Cindy Hsu, a senior from Taiwan who cruised to a 6 and 5 verdict over Yen.
Sophomore Angelina Tolentino, who starred scholastically at Lenape and won the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship in the summer of 2024 at Waynesborough Country Club, was in the lineup for Vanderbilt at Pelican Bay.
Tolentino suffered a 4 and 3 setback at the hands of Florida’s Wu in the opening round of match play as the top-seeded Gators rolled to a 4-1 victory and earned a spot in the semifinals against Auburn.
Vanderbilt moved up a spot from No. 14 to No. 13 in the Scoreboard rankings following its solid showing in the SEC Championship.
Florida, behind SEC individual champion Francisco, cruised to the top seed in three days of qualifying for match play.
After opening with a 3-under 277 over the 6,243-yard, par-70 Pelican Bay layout, the Gators added a 278 that left them in fourth place, trailing the leader Texas by five shots, Oklahoma by three and Vanderbilt by one, going into Sunday’s final round.
With Francisco and Propeck, who transferred from Virginia to Florida for her post-grad year, carding 3-under 67s, the Gators closed with a 4-under 276 that gave them a 9-under 831 total that was six shots better than Texas and Oklahoma in a tie for second place.
Francisco had opened with a 3-under 67 and added a 2-under 68 in Saturday’s second round that left her in fourth place, trailing the leader, Mississippi’s Mary Miller, a sophomore from Savannah, Ga., by three shots.
Francisco’s final-round 67 gave her an 8-under 202 total that gave her a two-shot victory over a foursome that included Miller, Texas’ O’Keefe, Texas A&M’s Borovilos and Tennessee’s Messimer.
Propeck gave Florida another top-10 finisher as she opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 1-over 71 in Saturday’s second round before matching Francisco’s final-round 67 to get a share of eighth place with South Carolina’s Vairana Heck, a junior from France, and Oklahoma’s Savannah Barber, a senior from Fort Worth, Texas, each landing on 3-under 207.
Texas added a 7-under 273 in Saturday’s second round to its opening-round 277 to take a two-shot lead over Oklahoma into the final round. The Longhorns closed with a 7-over 287 to share second place with Oklahoma with a 3-under 837 total.
O’Keefe led the way for Texas as she added a 3-under 67 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 68 before closing with a 69 that gave her a share of second place in the individual standings at 6-under 204.
Oklahoma matched par in the opening round with a 280 before recording a sparkling 8-under 272, the low team round of the tournament, to surge into contention. The Sooners, who moved up from No. 27 to No. 24 following the SEC Championship, closed with a 5-over 285 to share second place with Texas at 3-under.
Barber led the way for Oklahoma as she opened with a 2-over 68 and added a 69 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 72 to get a share of eighth place at 2-under.
Auburn finished a shot behind Texas and Oklahoma in fourth place with a 2-under 838 total as the Tigers bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 283 with a 4-under 276 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 279.
Auburn was led by Catonis, who finished alone in sixth place with a 5-under 205 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Catonis tallied a 3-under 67 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 68.
It was two shots back to Ole Miss, which improved from No. 21 to No. 18 in the Scoreboard rankings with its showing in the SEC Championship, in fifth place with an even-par 840 total as the Rebels opened with a 3-under 277 and added a 279 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 4-over 284.
Ole Miss was led by Miller, who ripped off back-to-back 4-under 66s in the first two rounds to take a two-shot lead in the individual chase into the final round. She closed with a 2-over 72 to land in the quartet tied for second place at 6-under.
Tennessee began its unforgettable week by finishing two shots behind Ole Miss in sixth place in qualifying for match play with a 2-over 842 total. The Lady Vols bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 284 with a solid 5-under 275 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 283.
Messimer led the way for Tennessee as she opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 67 to get her a share of second place in the individual standings at 6-under.
Texas A&M and Vanderbilt nailed down the final two spots in the match-play bracket as they finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up a shot behind Tennessee with a 3-over 843 total.
After opening with a solid 4-under 276, the Aggies added a 1-over 281 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 286.
Borovilos led the way for Texas A&M as she matched Miller’s sparkling opening round of 4-under 66 and added a 68 in Saturday’s second round that left her two shots behind Miller in a tie for second place in the individual chase. Borovilos matched par in the final round with a 70 to get a share of runnerup honors at 6-under.
Vanderbilt also opened with a solid 4-under 276 and added a 278 in Saturday’s second, but struggled a little in the final round with a 9-over 289. Still, the Commodores landed one of those coveted eight spots in the match-play bracket.
Backing up Francisco and Propeck for Florida were Wu and Huber, both of whom finished in the group tied for 25th place at 2-over 212.
Wu matched par in the final round with a 70 after posting back-to-back 1-over 71s in the first two rounds. Huber added a 1-under 69 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 72.
Rounding out the Florida lineup was Elaine Widjaja, a sophomore from Indonesia who finished among the trio tied for 41st place with a 6-over 216 total. Widjaja matched par in each of the first two rounds with back-to-back 70s before struggling in the final round with a 76.
Mississippi State’s Avery Weed, a junior from Ocean Springs, Miss. and No. 37 in the Women’s WAGR, finished alone in seventh place in the individual standings with a 4-under 206 total.
Weed opened with sparkling 4-under 66 and added a 68 in Saturday’s second round as she joined Texas A&M’s Borovilos in a tie for second place, two shots behind Ole Miss’ Miller, going into the final round. Weed then finished up with a 2-over 72.
South Carolina’s Heck added a 2-under 68 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 2-over 72 before closing with a 67 that enabled her to join Florida’s Propeck and Oklahoma’s Barber in a tie for eighth place at 3-under.
Mississippi State and defending SEC champion South Carolina joined Arkansas in a disappointed trio that finished in a tie for 10th place in the team standings at 6-over 846 and on the outside looking in of the match-play bracket.
Such is the depth of talent in the SEC that Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin, a junior from Colombia and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR, could do no better than a tie for 12th place in the individual standings with a 1-under 209 total.
Marin is the reigning NCAA individual champion who, earlier this month, was an impressive winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.
Vanderbilt’s Tolentino, the South Jersey native, finished in the group tied for 52nd place with an 8-over 218 at Pelican. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Tolentino added a 3-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 75.
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