By Lohan Sutton
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers entered one of the deepest conference championships in recent memory. By Tuesday, they stood atop the SEC for the first time in program history, defeating No. 8 Auburn 3-2 in a dramatic match-play final to claim the conference title.
Pre-tournament rankings had five teams in the top 10 nationally: Florida, Texas A&M, Texas, Arkansas, and Auburn. The field totaled 11 teams inside the top 30 rankings.
The Stroke Play Grind: From T-10th to No. 6 Seed
The tournament opened with 54 holes of stroke play to seed the top eight teams for match play. The Lady Vols’ path was all but smooth.
After round one, the team sat 4-over-par and tied for 10th. Four strokes outside the top eight cutoff. Madison Messimer kept them alive with an opening round 2-under-par, and Kaopan Thapasit posted an even-par 70. Manassanan Chotikabhukkana rallied for a 2-over-par after taking a seven on the fifth hole. Kyra Van Kan and Sophie Christopher both opened with rounds of 74.
Round two sparked the turnaround. Van Kan exploded for a 5-under-par round of 65, carding only one bogey and one of the best rounds of the tournament. Christopher bounced back, carding a 3-under-par round of 67. Messimer continued her consistency for a 1-under-par.
Round three was not flashy, but by the end of the round, Tennessee had climbed to sixth place overall at 2-over-par. Messimer finished as individual runner-up at 6-under-par, one of the top performances of the entire event. Her score earned her the highest individual finish by a freshman in program history at the SEC Championship and the best finish by a Lady Vol since Eric Popson in 2011.
Van Kan ended T19 at 1-over-par, and Christopher at T31 at 3-over-par. The rest of the lineup held steady to punch their ticket into the bracket.
Once the field narrowed to the top eight, the Lady Vols flipped a switch. What followed was three rounds of high-stakes, one-on-one battles that showcased resilience, clutch putting, and team depth.
Top 8 Leaderboard:
1 Florida, -9
T2 Texas, -3
T2 Oklahoma, -3
4 Auburn, -2
5 Ole Miss, E
6 Tennessee, +2
T7 Texas A&M, +3
T7 Vanderbilt, +3
Quarterfinals, Tennessee 4-1 over Oklahoma
The Lady Vols drew Oklahoma in the opening round of match play and wasted no time making history with their first-ever quarterfinal victory in the format.
The Lady Vols claimed four of five individual matches:
Chotikabhukkana defeated Satonkan Thiengsri, 2&1
Engesaeth defeated Audrey Rischer, 6&4
Van Kan defeated Gracie Mayo, 2&1
Messimer defeated Savannah Barber, 2UP
The 4-1 rout was a decisive message that this team was dangerous.
Semifinals, Tennessee 3-2 over Texas A&M
The semifinals were a matchup against No.4 Texas A&M, which produced one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament.
Regulation ended up tied at 2.5-2.5.
Tennessee’s wins came from:
Van Kan defeating Byrnn Kort, 4&3
Messimer defeating Natalie Yen, 3&1
Everything came down to the fifth match between Engesaeth and Sky Sudberry. The Norwegian junior subbed into the match-play portion of the event as a specialist, having more experience with the format from her time playing golf in Europe. She used her solid mentality when she needed it most for Tennessee.
Engesaeth found herself down one heading into the final holes. She tied it up on the 16th hole but lost the 17th to head into the final hole one down.
Engesaeth’s approach on 18 was good, but the ball rolled off the green heading towards the water. Her ball hit a sprinkler head and stayed dry. She was given free relief and lined up the 10-foot birdie attempt. A clutch make by Engesaeth won the hole to force a sudden-death playoff.
The pair headed to the 10th hole to start the playoff. Engesaeth kept the momentum to par, and Sudberry made bogey. This secured the 3-2 victory, sending Tennessee to the championship for the first time.
Championship Final, Tennessee 3-2 over Auburn
Tuesday morning brought the ultimate test against No. 8 Auburn, and the Lady Vols delivered.
Christopher and Engesaeth provided dominant early points with 6&5 victories, giving Tennessee a 2-0 lead. Auburn fought back to tie at 2-2. It all came down to Van Kan, who was 2-up heading into the final stretch. A bogey on 16 cut her lead to one, but Van Kan responded on the 17th hole for birdie, sinking the championship-winning putt.
Individual results:
Anna Davis defeated Chotikabhukkana, 2&1
Van Kan defeated Carys Worby, 2&1 (Championship Winning Match)
Christopher defeated Katie Cranston, 6&5
Molly Brown Davidson defeated Messimer, 5&4
Engesaeth defeated Charlotte Cantonis, 6&5
A Program Defining Moment
Head coach Diana Cantú’s squad showed the depth and fight that had been building all season. Messimer’s consistency anchored the lineup. Van Kan and Engesaeth delivered when the pressure was highest. Lastly, Christopher bounced back from early losses to go 6&5 in the final.
This championship is the first in program history. It sends the Lady Vols into the NCAA regionals with massive momentum and proves that rankings do not define destiny.
This championship title just added to the already historic run for this Lady Vol team, which has racked up three wins this season.
Up Next: All six regionals will be contested May 11-13 over 54 holes with the top five teams at each site advancing to the NCAA Championship, set for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.The most recent Golf Channel bracketology has the Lady Vols in the Ann Arbor Regional hosted by the University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Michigan.