Knoxville, TN Behind the third consecutive top-10 finish of junior Lene Krog, the Virginia women’s golf team placed eighth in a stellar field at Tennessee’s Mercedes-Benz Championship. Virginia shot 298 during Sunday’s final round to complete the tournament with a score of 886. Florida, ranked sixth, won the tournament by five shots at 865. Purdue, ranked 16th, was second at 870.

Krog led the Cavalier effort with an eighth-place finish carding a 2-over score of 215 for the 54-hole event. She had scores of 71, 71 and 73. Freshman Calle Nielson was 25th at 221 including a 73 Sunday. Carly Truitt was 56th at 226, Joy Kim was 57th at 228 and Kristen Simpson was 61st at 229. The tournament was Kim’s first collegiate event.

Florida’s Sandra Gal took medalist honors by defeating Auburn’s Cydney Clanton in a playoff. Both players finished at 3-under 210.

Virginia’s finish placed it ahead of five teams that were ranked above the Cavaliers in the latest Golfweek standings. UVa, ranked 33rd entering the event, placed ahead of Alabama (No. 5), North Carolina (26th), Michigan State (27th), LSU (28th) and Furman (32nd). All seven teams that finished higher than UVa were ranked in Golfweek’s top-25.

The Cavaliers wrap up their fall season Oct. 26-28 when they defend their championship at The Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C.

Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championship
Cherokee Country Club
Knoxville, TN
Par-71, 5,932 yards
Final  Results

Team Results
 1. Florida                289-288-288-865
 2. Purdue                 291-291-288-870
 3. Arkansas               285-297-296-878
 4. Auburn                 292-296-291-879
 5. Kent State             296-297-288-881
 6. Tennessee              288-306-289-883
 7. Denver                 293-292-300-885
 8. Virginia               294-294-298-886
 9. LSU                    295-299-294-888
10. Alabama                288-301-300-889
11. Michigan State         292-301-302-895
11. Ohio State             296-295-302-895
13. North Carolina         305-299-293-897
14. Swedish Jr. Nationals  304-298-297-899
15. Furman                 300-301-300-901
16. SMU                    302-296-310-908
17. Central Florida        305-301-305-912

Individual Leaders
 1. Sandra Gal, Florida*                     69-71-70-210
 1. Cydney Clanton, Auburn                   72-70-68-210
 3. Caroline Hedwall, Swedish Jr. Nationals  71-72-68-211
 3. Stacy Lewis, Arkansas                    69-71-71-211
 5. Diana Cantu, Tennessee                   71-73-70-214
 5. Kathleen Ekey, Alabama                   68-70-76-214
 5. Blair Lamb, Furman                       72-71-71-214
 8. Maria Hernandez, Purdue                  71-72-72-215
 8. Lene Krog, Virginia                      71-71-73-215
10. Kirby Dreher, Kent State                 72-75-69-216
10. Megan McChrystal, LSU                    72-73-71-216
10. Whitney Myers, Florida                   73-70-73-216
* Won playoff for medalist

Virginia Results
 8. Lene Krog           71-71-73-215
25. Calle Nielson       71-77-73-221
56. Carly Truitt        76-76-74-226
57. Joy Kim             77-73-78-228
61. Kristen Simpson     76-74-79-229