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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
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Rapsodo in the Desert
Late Push Sees Rebels Snag Third Place at Rapsodo in the Desert
1/24/2022 | Women's Golf
Lignell, Tamburlini Earn Top 5 Finishes in Spring Opener
SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. – The Ole Miss women's golf team concluded the team's opening tournament of the spring season Monday afternoon, securing a third place finish following a late push by the Rebels (289-285–574).
The Rebels had a strong showing in the team's first tournament, which featured a field containing four other ranked teams. Ole Miss ranked third in both total birdies (32) and par-5 scoring (-11) over the two-day event at Lost Gold Golf Course.
Entering the day in fifth place on the team leaderboard, Ole Miss saw an amazing late push that included a total of nine birdies in the team's final four holes of the day, rocketing the Rebels up into a bronze team finish.
"I was really proud of the way our team finished today," head coach Kory Henkes said. "We put together an incredible run at the end to boost us to a third place finish against some great competition. It was nice to start early this year to get a gauge on where we are and what we need to work on moving forward."
Spearheading the late Rebel surge was junior Andrea Lignell, who followed up her 1-under performance from Sunday by shooting a red-hot 68 (-4) on the day. With tournament-highs in second round birdies (7) and total birdies over the weekend (12), while also finishing number two in the field in par-5 scoring (-6), Lignell earned sole possession of third place individually, marking just the second top 5 finish of her career.
Alongside Lignell in the top 5 of the Rapsodo was Chiara Tamburlini, carrying a strong performance from the tournament's opening round into Monday's finale. Tamburlini, who opened the tournament shooting a 68 (-4) of her own consisting of five birdies, carded a 71 (+1) on Monday to earn a share of fifth place once the dust had settled in Arizona.
This marks the second-consecutive tournament that Lignell and Tamburlini have finished in the top 5 together, as the duo had similar results in the fall season finale at the East Lake Cup with Lignell tying for second and Tamburlini for fourth individually in the October fixture.
Also aiding in the Rebels' late push was senior Julia Johnson, as the St. Gabriel, Louisiana, native tallied birdies on the final two holes of her tournament to end the day with a 72 (E) and tied for 17th overall on the individual leaderboard. This marks the 39th top 20 finish of Johnson's career, as well as her 13th consecutive top 20 finish stretching back to the 2020 East Lake Cup where her streak began.
Capping off the rotation for the Rebels were Ellen Hume (76-72–148) and McKinley Cunningham (78-77–155), who each finished their rounds on Monday by tallying a birdie. Hume, who finished the tournament in a tie for 26th, would end her tournament with six total birdies, while Cunningham's five birdies on the weekend helped place her in 39th.
Freshman Natacha Host Husted competed as an individual in Arizona for the weekend, logging a two-day score of 149 (+5) to secure herself a 30th place finish.
Taking the team title on the weekend were the Arizona State Sun Devils (278-280–558), while Oklahoma State's Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (67-67–134) claimed the individual title at 10-under.
The Rebels now turn their attention to the Lady Bulldog Individual, which is set to take place Jan. 29-30 in Athens, Georgia. The UGA Golf Course will play host to the event beginning Saturday morning.
| THE REBELS |
3. Andrea Lignell: 71-68–139 (-5)
T5. Chiara Tamburlini: 68-73–141 (-3)
T17. Julia Johnson: 74-72–146 (+2)
T26. Ellen Hume: 76-72–148 (+4)
T39. McKinley Cunningham: 78-77–155 (+11)
*T30. Natacha Host Husted: 75-74–149 (+5)
*competing as individual
| TEAM LEADERBOARD |
1. Arizona State: 278-280–558 (-18)
2. Oklahoma State: 281-282–563 (-13)
3. Ole Miss: 289-285–574 (-2)
4. UCLA: 288-289–577 (+1)
5. Denver: 285-296–581 (+5)
6. Arizona: 295-287–582 (+6)
7. Kansas: 298-303–601 (+25)
Players Mentioned
