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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
SEC Championship
Rebels Close Play at SEC Championship
4/23/2017 | Women's Golf
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Ole Miss women's golf team finished play Sunday at the 2017 SEC Women's Golf Championship at Greystone Golf & Country Club.
The Rebels finished 13th, three strokes ahead of No. 39 Auburn, shooting 296-295-300--891 for their best team score in the SEC tournament since 2010 and their best at Greystone. Ole Miss also secured its best team scoring average in program history at 298.47.
"Overall, we entered the tournament ranked 14th and finished 13th, which isn't exactly what we hoped for, but I think we had some learning lessons this week, and I think the girls gained some valuable knowledge for next year's tournament," said head coach Kory Henkes. "We're proud of the way the girls fought and had a good tournament. Overall, it was a pretty good year."
Senior Maria Toennessen and freshman Pi-Lillebi Hermansson tied for the top finish for Ole Miss, each shooting 3-over (75) on the final day. Toennessen made her fourth and final SEC Championship appearance, and her third at Greystone. The Grimstad, Norway native made the most of it with her best performance of the spring and her best three-round score in this event.
"I'm happy," Toennessen said. "I've played well on this course before, so I wanted to play well again. And obviously it's my last chance to play good college golf again, so I wanted to do well. This is my third time playing it, so I've been pretty much everywhere on it. It's a course I really like."
While Toennessen punctuated her collegiate career with a strong SEC tournament, Hermansson concluded an impressive freshman campaign.
"We were proud of Maria. She's had an up-and-down spring, but she works so hard, so we were happy to see her have a consistent tournament," Henkes said. "Pi being a freshman, I think it's an impressive start for her. I know she wasn't that excited about it, but she did a good job."
Sophomore Martina Flori carded the best score of the day for Ole Miss at 74. But her third round was a microcosm of the day for the Rebels. The Montecatini Terme, Italy native was 3-under on the front nine but 5-over on the back.
Senior Madisen Bentley rounded out the counting four at 76. The University Place, Wash. native had the team's best back-nine performance, using two birdies to go 1-over after the turn.
"We played the front nine well, we just didn't get it done on the back," Henkes said. "Katy and Marti both had a really good day one day, and that's the beauty of team golf, you can have a good score and throw one out. Madisen stepped up today to get that four score for us."
Standings
1. Florida: 284-280-278--842
T2. Alabama: 295-285-275--855
T2. Georgia: 287-282-286--855
4. Arkansas: 283-287-287--857
T5. Texas A&M: 282-290-288--860
T5. South Carolina: 286-290-284--860
7. Tennessee: 287-286-290--863
8. LSU: 294-292-287--873
9. Vanderbilt: 287-302-293--882
10. Kentucky: 291-296-298--885
11. Mississippi State: 295-300-292--887
12. Missouri: 302-295-292--889
13. Ole Miss: 296-295-300--891
14. Auburn: 300-297-297--894
Ole Miss Rebels
T40. Maria Toennessen: 74-74-75--223
T40. Pi-Lillebi Hermansson: 75-73-75--223
T46. Martina Flori: 72-79-74--225
T56. Katy Harris: 76-69-82--227
T63. Madisen Bentley: 75-80-76--231
For all Ole Miss women's golf news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf and Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf.
Players Mentioned
