ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team eliminated rival Tennessee on Saturday and advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Championships at the Sea Island Golf Club.
The Commodores next face Alabama starting at 6:30 a.m. CT Sunday next for a chance to advance to Sunday’s championship round.
“I’m just really excited for our guys,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “Each one of them played with a lot of pride and competitive character today. It was a total team effort against a good opponent so we are excited to move on.”
Vandy, the sixth seed, got a win Saturday from senior Harrison Ott who defeated Rhys Nevin-Wharton 3&2. Reid Davenport then finished off Brayden Garrison 2&1.
On Matthew Riedel’s 18th hole of the day, a missed putt from Spencer Cross put Riedel 1-up and clinched the match for the Dores. William Moll also secured a 1&1 victory while Cole Sherwood lost 1-up.
“I’m so proud of Harrison and how he battled after being three down early and to come back and win,” Limbaugh said. “Reid was steady all day and looks great on this golf course. Matthew and William did a great job in both of their matches against good players. They were both in control of their games all day. It was really windy today and I love how our guys embraced that.”
Alabama (2) won its match 3-2 over South Carolina while No. 8 Texas A&M upended No. 1 Georgia 3-2 in a match that had two tiebreakers – one of which went 22 holes. Arkansas defeated LSU by a 3-2 score.
The semifinal round Saturday scheduled for afternoon will be streamed live HERE and live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
“This was the next sprint in this marathon of sprints and we play another great opponent next,” Limbaugh said. “It takes everyone choosing courage and confidence and having some fun. You have to be able to trust your teammates, play with some toughness and not worry about the results. Just gotta go play and embrace it.”
Matthew Riedel clinches the match winning 1🆙 — Commodores headed to the semifinals.#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/fugnYjH00m
— Vanderbilt Men’s Golf (@VandyMGolf) April 24, 2021
