Tennessee downs Vanderbilt in SEC Match Play
Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
It's only September, but Tennessee's victory over No. 2 Vanderbilt in the SEC Match Play Championship match is sure to reverberate beyond the reaches of ol' Rocky Top for a while.
Tennessee, ranked 25th in the current Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, rode wins by redshirt freshman Lance Simpson, redshirt junior Jake Hall and redshirt junior Bryce Lewis to a 3 and 2 victory over the mighty Commodores on Tuesday at Old Overton Golf Club in Vestavia Hills, Ala..
Hall, who finished tied for second place in the stroke play portion of the event, gave Tennessee its first win of the day, defeating Vanderbilt's Cole Sherwood, 3 and 2.
Simpson, who finished 10th in the stroke play competition, won hole Nos. 16-18 to notch a 2-up victory over Vanderbilt's William Moll.
Lewis withstood a furious comeback from Vanderbilt's Reid Davenport to provide the clinching point with a 1-up win on the 18th hole.
Redshirt sophomore Cade Russell and freshman Caleb Surratt both fell in their matches by finals of 4 and 2 and 6 and 5, respectively.
The tournament win marks the Vols' first team tournament title since the 2020 Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic, which took place just before the COVID-19 shutdown of the 2019-20 season.
Match Play Final Results
Lance Simpson (UT) def. William Moll, 2-up
Jake Hall (UT) def. Cole Sherwood, 3 and 2
Matthew Riedel (VU) def. Cade Russell, 4 and 2
Gordon Sargent (VU) def. Caleb Surratt, 6 and 5
Bryce Lewis (UT) def. Reid Davenport, 1-up
ABOUT THE SEC Fall Preview
Men's college match play tournament, with
each team match consisting of five individual matches.
A player match win is worth 1 point, and a tie is worth
1/2, and the winning team is the one with the most
points in the five player matches. 54 holes of stroke
play determines match play opponents.
View Complete Tournament Information