Cullowhee, N.C. - Ten tournaments spread equally over both the fall and spring semesters, including hosting the fifth-annual Hummingbird Intercollegiate at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley to close the fall slate, highlight Western Carolina's 2011-12 men's golf schedule that was released this week.

The schedule concludes with the 2012 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship April 14-17 at the Ralston Creek Course on Daniel Island, S.C., just outside of Charleston.

"The beginning of the season is always an exciting time and everyone is ready to compete," said second-year head coach Carter Cheves. "I feel very good about the schedule we have compiled for this season and about our ability to be successful."

"We start the year exactly where we finished it last season at the Country Club of South Carolina. We have a couple guys who experienced a successful conference championship event there at the end of last season, so it should be a good starting point for us to open the 2011-12 campaign. We will also return to both the Mason Rudolph Championship and the Wolfpack Intercollegiate this fall - both are two, great opportunities to see some of the best teams in the country."

Cheves and the Catamounts open the season at the Springhill Suites Intercollegiate, hosted by Francis Marion at the Country Club of South Carolina on Sept. 12-13 in the first of two tournaments in the opening month. WCU returns to the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 23-25.

On October 3-4, Western Carolina returns to the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, hosted by North Carolina State at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh looking to improve upon its 13th-place finish a season ago. Two weeks later, WCU will play in the Donald Ross Intercollegiate, hosted by Appalachian State at the Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton, N.C.

The fall portion of the season concludes with the fifth-annual Hummingbird Intercollegiate, hosted by WCU at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley. The practice round will be held on Sunday, Oct. 30 with 36 holes spread over Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 with 18 per day. It is the sixth-time that WCU has hosted an event at the par-71, 6,767-yard mountain course.

WCU sophomore Jack Walsh led the Catamounts with a sixth-place finish at last year's event with a career-best, 36-hole score of 141. The squad won its lone home event back in 2006, battling blustery weather conditions in best Vanderbilt by 17 strokes.

"We are very excited about hosting the Hummingbird Intercollegiate in Sapphire," Cheves said. "The views from the course at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley at the end of October are spectacular. The tournament field is highly competitive and we are looking forward to the three-day event."

Three of the five spring tournaments will be held in the state of South Carolina beginning with the semester-opening Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate on Feb. 20-21 at Hilton Head Island, S.C. One week later, the Catamounts travel back to the Samford Intercollegiate at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Ala., before competing in the Furman Intercollegiate March 17-18 in Greenville, S.C.

March concludes with WCU participating in the C&F Bank Invitational in the final tune-up before the conference championship. Hosted by William & Mary at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., the C&F Bank Invitational is slated for March 25-27.

The Catamounts will then have two weeks to prepare for the SoCon Championship which is changing host venues for the first time since 2007. The 54-hole conference title event is scheduled for April 15-17.

Also on the docket, WCU will square-off against arch-rival Appalachian State in a co-ed, head-to-head competition in the University Cup at Mimosa Hills for a second-straight year. The Catamounts downed the Mountaineers in the first-ever meeting between the two mountain-rivals in last year's Cup competition. A date for the second-annual match-play event has yet to be determined.

Western Carolina returns four golfers from last year's squad - only one of which is an upper-classman in junior Trey White. Three sophomores including last year's leading scorer Walsh, Collin Witiak and Greg Bunner all return to the lineup for the Purple & Gold.

Three newcomers including junior transfer Steven Smith (Kirknewton, Scotland), Charlie Kilzer (Charlotte, N.C.) and J.T. Poston (Hickory, N.C.) - who won the Big "I" Junior National Championship over the summer - will add depth and will compete for a place in the starting lineup for Cheves and the Catamounts.

"We have a nice blend of returning starters and some new incoming players. I am looking for improvement from our returning guys and a few new ones to step up. There is a lot of talent on this team and I am excited to see how we respond in Florence to start the year."