FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Mississippi State surged down the stretch to overtake host Vanderbilt and win the 2022 Mason Rudolph Championship presented by Simmons Bank.
The Bulldogs finished 19-under-par for the 54-hole tournament and edged out Arizona (-15) and the Commodores (-14). Vandy was in second place after the opening round and had a two-shot lead coming into Sunday’s action at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
Mississippi State was one of just four teams in the field to finish under-par Sunday while the Dores faltered on the back nine and were 4-over-par for their final round.
But the final result marked big improvement for Vanderbilt in their second event of the fall.
“Today was fun being in the hunt,” Vandy head coach Greg Allen said. “Obviously we would have loved to have won, but we learned and I think we learned a lot of things that will help us build for the future. Super-pumped for this group of girls.”
Vanderbilt and Arizona were tied atop the leaderboard at 22-under-par through nine holes. Vandy’s Celina Sattelkau, meanwhile, found herself in a tie for the individual lead at 8-under-par.
With six holes to play, Sattelkau was tied with Auburn’s Megan Schofill atop the leaderboard. Schofill completed her round three holes ahead and a birdie on 17 gave her a one-shot lead going into the clubhouse.
Back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16 dropped Sattelkau three strokes back and that’s where she would finish in a tie for fourth place.
“The crazy thing about Celina is she doesn’t particularly play well on the Legends North Course,” Allen said. “So I thought all three days this weekend were big barriers for her to get over and it was a really good tournament for her.”
Vandy freshman Lynn Lim tied for ninth place at 4-under-par. Fellow freshman Tillie Claggett (-2) tied for 15th as did Natasha Kiel (-2). Tess Davenport (+11) tied for 55th
Virginie Ding led four Commodores competing as individuals. The sophomore tied for 38th at 7-under-par. Meghan Meserole (+16) finished 69th, Jayna Choi (+18) was 72nd and Ariel Yu (+20) was 74th.
“We knew our freshmen were really good. I wasn’t quite sure how they would handle playing at home and they handled it like champions,” Allen said. “Obviously today wasn’t Tillie’s best, but I think it was a really big learning opportunity for her. Her and Lynn, I’ve told them both, over the course of their four years together they have an opportunity to do something really special at Vanderbilt.
“Really proud of Natasha. From where she was last year at this time to now? She’s made huge strides in her game but mores just maturing.”
Vanderbilt has just a few weeks off before heading back out on the road to compete at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate on Oct. 7-9 in Highland Ranch, Colorado.
