HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

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Today’s roundup features Ole Miss Sports.

Women’s Golf in 15th at LSU Tiger Golf Classic 

Katie Voll
Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics.

The Ole Miss women’s golf team began play at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic on Sunday and sit in 15th place after 18 holes on a windy day in Baton Rouge.

“It was really tough out there today,” head coach Kory Henkes said. “We teed off on 10 so by the time we reached the front nine the winds were blowing 20-25 MPH. If I had to guess, I would say the par for today was around 76.”

Senior Alison Hovatter (Meridianville, Ala.) led the Rebels with a 6-over par 78, anchored by a bogey-free opening nine holes where she posted an even-par 36.

“I started out really solid today,” Hovatter said. “The wind picked up on the back nine and the course played completely different. We are really excited to play tomorrow and embrace the challenge of this golf course.”

Starting on the 10th hole Sunday morning proved to be kind to the Red and Blue. The Rebels averaged less than three strokes over par on holes 10 through 18 in the opening round behind Hovatter’s lead.

“We did our best to play to the center of the greens all day and we saw some really good golf for 15 holes,” Henkes added. “The team learned from their mistakes and they are excited to get back out there tomorrow and post a solid round.”

The second round of the LSU Tiger Golf Classic tees off at 8:30 a.m. CT in Baton Rouge, and the Rebels will be paired with players from Auburn and Denver. Fans can follow along with live scoring via GolfStat.

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. Fans can also follow head coach Kory Henkes on Twitter at @KoryThompson1.

Team Standings
1. Duke: 290—290
2. Arkansas: 299—299
3. Tennessee: 302—302
T4. Tulane: 305—305
T4. LSU: 305—305
T6. Houston: 307—307
T6. Mississippi State: 307—307
T6. Kentucky: 307—307
9. UNC Wilmington: 310—310
T10. Wake Forest: 311—311
T10. NC State: 311—311
12. Notre Dame: 315—315
13. North Carolina: 316—316
14. Oklahoma: 319—319
15. Ole Miss: 320—320
16. Denver: 321—321
17. Auburn: 326—326

Ole Miss Players
T35. Alison Hovatter: 78—78
T45. Laura Hoskin: 79—79
T63. Madisen Bentley: 81—81
T63. Katie Voll: 81—81 (I)
T74. Abby Newton: 82—82
T90. Maria Toennessen: 86—86

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information

Ole Miss Drops Series Finale to No. 13 Kentucky

Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss gave up three early runs and couldn’t come from behind as No. 13 Kentucky took the series finale, 6-2, Sunday at John Cropp Stadium.

Kentucky (25-4, 5-1 SEC) delivered two home runs in the opening frame, and late surges by the Rebels (24-7, 2-4 SEC) offense wasn’t enough. Senior Madi Osias got the start and went three innings in the loss with five runs allowed and four walks, while Elisha Jahnke tossed the final three frames in relief and was solid with just one run allowed off five hits.

Ole Miss’ first run came in the fourth thanks to a solo home run from junior catcher Courtney Syrett – her second blast of the weekend – cutting the Cats’ lead to 3-1. Two frames later the Rebels added their final run of the contest thanks to a Sarah Van Schaik RBI off an infield groundout that scored Miranda Strother.

Kentucky (25-4, 5-1 SEC) delivered two home runs in the opening frame, and late surges by the Rebels (24-7, 2-4 SEC) offense wasn’t enough. Senior Madi Osias got the start and went three innings in the loss with five runs allowed and four walks, while Elisha Jahnke tossed the final three frames in relief and was solid with just one run allowed off five hits.

Ole Miss’ first run came in the fourth thanks to a solo home run from junior catcher Courtney Syrett – her second blast of the weekend – cutting the Cats’ lead to 3-1. Two frames later the Rebels added their final run of the contest thanks to a Sarah Van Schaik RBI off an infield groundout that scored Miranda Strother.

Ole Miss had its chances at the dish as the Rebels got runners to second and third in the first, but got caught in a pickle and went down on a strikeout. Two innings later, Hailey Lunderman walked and stole second to get in scoring position, but again was stranded.

Strother and Syrett both finished with two hits with one run scored apiece, while Van Schaik, Raven Campos and Kylan Becker added one hit each. Syrett finished her career-best weekend with two home runs and four RBI and a slugging percentage of 1.500.

Kentucky’s Kelsey Nunley got the win in relief after allowing just one unearned run over the final 3.2 innings.

The Rebels return to action Tuesday with a midweek contest at Memphis set for 6 p.m. CT.

For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information

Three School Records Fall in Rebels’ Outdoor Season Opener

Nathan Loe (photo by Thomas Graning/ Ole Miss

The outdoor track & field season began much like the indoor campaign for the Ole Miss Rebels, as they shattered three school records and put together a strong showing at the rain-shortened Alabama Relays over the weekend.

After Friday’s events were cancelled due to rain and weather, Saturday was a full day of competition that went very well for the Rebels, especially a particular well-known sophomore thrower.

Raven Saunders was on fire Saturday as she stormed back from a subpar shot put performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships a week ago.

In her outdoor debut for Ole Miss, Saunders shattered school records with wins in both the shot put and discus. In her signature event, the shot put, she heaved the ball 18.75m/61-6.25, setting an outdoor personal best along with a meet record, facility record and school record. It’s the best outdoor shot put ever by an SEC woman and moves her up to No. 7 on the all-time outdoor collegiate list. She enters the 2016 world outdoor rankings at No. 2 in the early part of this Olympic year.

Not as well known for the discus, Saunders made a big statement on Saturday with a throw of 56.85m/186-6, which also was a personal best that set meet, facility and school records. It’s a significant mark that would have ranked 13th nationally at the end of last season. Saunders’ previous personal best in the event was 168-0 last year as a freshman at Southern Illinois.

Saunders broke both records on her sixth and final throw of each event Saturday. She surpassed the previous Ole Miss records of 55-3 in the shot put (Davina Orieukwu, 2009) and 176-11 in the discus (Betty Williams, 2011).

The other school record fell Thursday night, when Dempsey McGuigan eclipsed his own school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 68.15m/223-7.

Senior Bo Ummels nearly broke a fourth school record in the women’s 1500 meters. She placed runner-up in a field of 68 runners with a personal-best time of 4:24.41 that ranks her No. 2 in school history behind the Rebel record of 4:22.43 set by Rachel Ellison in 2004. Ummels’ twin sister, Britt Ummels, placed fifth with a personal-best time of 4:25.45 that ranks her No. 4 in the school record books.

The women’s 4×100-meter relay squad got off to a hot start with a win in 44.52, defeating Mississippi State and Southeastern Louisiana, among others. It was the same quartet that ran at the NCAA East Preliminary last year and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships – sophomore Nicole Henderson, sophomore Shannon Ray, junior Breanna Tate and senior Khadijah Suleman.

Senior McKenna Coughlin placed runner-up in the 3000-meter steeplechase, clocking a personal-best 10:45.32 that moves her up to fourth in school history.

The women’s pole vaulters altered the school record books quite a bit on Saturday. In her Ole Miss debut, sophomore Lindsey Murray cleared 3.95m/12-11.5, which ranks her No. 2 in school history. Redshirt-freshman Katy McAuley and junior Callie Watson both made a height of 3.85m/12-7.5 to rank fourth in the school record books.

Despite resting many of the top athletes that competed late in the indoor season, Ole Miss competitors still piled up 16 personal bests during the rain-shortened weekend in Tuscaloosa.

The Rebels will return to action next Saturday at the Arkansas Spring Invitational in Fayetteville.

For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissTrack, as well as Facebook and Instagram.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information

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