BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team moved to sixth on the team leaderboard in the second round of the SEC Championships Thursday on the Legacy Course at the Greystone Golf and Country Club. The Commodores showed a five-stroke improvement from the opening round, carding a 5-over-par 293 heading into the final round of stroke play Friday.
“I thought today was a really good day for us and I’m proud of how Lou (Louise Yu) and Tess (Davenport) bounced back,” said head coach Greg Allen. “They played very solid, as did Celina (Sattelkau).”
Coming into the tournament at No. 11 in the SEC standings, the Dores are in contention for match play after 36 holes with the top eight teams after three rounds advancing to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
“We are so close to being the team we have talked about becoming all year,” noted Allen.
The par-72 course playing at 6,331 yards certainly challenged the field of top SEC golfers. No team is under par through 36 holes and the average score among the individual field was 74.59. Out of the 70 individuals in the field, only six are below par after 36 holes.
Vandy was led Thursday by junior Celina Sattelkau, who finished with two birdies and an eagle en route to a second-round 72 and is tied for seventh. Sattelkau is one of two players at the event to post an eagle through two rounds of the tournament. She also sits in a five-way tie for second in par-5 scoring (3-under) in the field.
Sattelkau 𝐒𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐒 into the top 🔟 at the @SEC Championships! 🦅#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/hUHUXgySV3
— Vanderbilt Women's Golf (@VandyWGolf) April 15, 2022
Senior Auston Kim remains in the top 20, two strokes behind Sattelkau at 3-over par and is in a nine-way tie for 16th. Fifth-year senior Louise Yu improved her round by six strokes from the first day after firing four birdies for a second-round 72. After 36 holes, she’s currently in a six-way tie for 36th at 6-over par.
Junior Tess Davenport had the Dores’ third lowest round of the day at 1-over par. Davenport remained consistent with only two bogeys and a birdie on the day. She improved 13 spots to sit in a six-way tie for 42nd. Junior Jayna Choi ended the day 5-over-par and tied for 52nd to close out the team’s scoring.
No. 21 Auburn leads the field at even par while No. 3 South Carolina and No. 16 LSU are second and third, respectively. In the individual medalist competition, Auburn’s Megan Schofill sits in first at 7-under par, while Tennessee’s Mikayla Bardwell (-6) surged 31 spots to second after the lowest round of the day at 9-under par. LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad, who is third nationally in the most recent Golfstat individual rankings, rounds out the top three at 4-under par.
The third and final round of stroke play of the SEC Championships concludes on Friday. Choi will begin play for the Dores in the last round of with an 8:50 a.m. start from the first hole. Live scoring for the event can be found here.
“Tomorrow is a day we have been preparing for,” said Allen. “We have talked about emptying the tank and staying calm should chaos arise. We have done a really good job of that the last two days. It is so tight for the last five spots and I can’t wait to see our young ladies compete for one of them tomorrow.”
