The Mocs look to defend SoCon Championship and return to NCAA postseason
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team has 10 scheduled events, pending approval from the Faculty Athletics Committee, in 2010-11 with an eye on adding two more at the end of the season, NCAA Regionals and Championship. Entering the fourth year of the program, women's golf has already achieved championship-level play.
The Mocs won the 2010 Southern Conference Championship, advanced to NCAA Regionals in 2009 and 2010 with the team qualifying for the NCAA Championship in 2009. The team has been ranked in the top 50 the last two years after a top 75 finish in the inaugural season.
"We've had some success," said head coach Colette Murray who has led her charges to seven team titles in her three years. "It is exciting to build a program from the ground up. Now the challenge is for us to become a top 25 program and beyond. This year's schedule gives us every opportunity to do that."
Chattanooga opens the slate on Labor Day, Sept. 6, with a one-day, 36-hole event, the Labor Day Shootout. A small, but competitive field will gather to tackle the famed TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, home site of the PGA Tour's Tournament Players Championship.
The Mocs return to the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Vail, Colo., Sept. 26-28. UTC finished a strong third in the event last fall in Primm, Nev.
The fall continues with a return appearance in the Mercedes-Benz Women's Championship (Knoxville, Tenn.) Oct. 8-10 before two new events close out the 2010 portion of the schedule. The Mocs finish October at The Landfall Tradition (Oct. 22-24) and Paladin Invitational (Oct. 29-31). The Landfall is played at the site of the 2010 NCAA Championship, while the Paladin is at SoCon-rival Furman.
"It's an aggressive open to the year for us," added Murray. "Each event has a good field and an opportunity for us to make a statement early. Being invited to the Landfall is special because it is one of the premier collegiate events every year."
Spring starts early for the Mocs as they return to the Kinderlou Forest Challenge (Feb. 25-27) in Valdosta, Ga. The Kinderlou is one of five events from the 2009-10 schedule on this year's ledger.
Gainesville, Fla., is the next stop for the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational (March 6-7). Senior Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) will defend her title there. It's the third appearance in four years for the Mocs at the event.
For the third straight season, Chattanooga heads to suburban Jacksonville, Fla, for the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational (March 11-13). That event is followed by the first trip to the Liz Murphey Collegiate (April 1-3) at the University of Georgia.
The Southern Conference Championship is April 17-19 as it heads back to Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head, S.C. Moss Creek has been an excellent host for the event and the Mocs have played well there with a second in 2009 to go with last year's title.
NCAA Regionals are May 7-9 at one of three sites - LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind., and Washington National in Seattle. The top eight teams and two individuals from non-advancing teams move on to the NCAA Championship May 17-20. The 72-hole finals will be played at Traditions Golf Club in College Station, Texas.
"We want to get back to finals," concluded Murray. "Our goals are pretty simple, win the SoCon, earn a top 25 ranking and get back to finals and compete for a national championship. They're not easy goals, but they are attainable. It's the next step for our program."