CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Chattanooga Mocs head golf coach Mark Guhne was recently named to the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame. He is joined by three former coaches and four former student-athletes, marking eight Mocs among the 18 inductees.
“It is an honor,” Guhne stated. “I am a little stunned, to be honest. It is very humbling to join such an impressive group of people who have had a great impact in our area.”
Guhne took the reins of the Chattanooga men’s golf program in 2005. Since then, he has guided the program to 17 team and 13 individual titles. He’s had two All-Americans (Jonathan Hodge, 2009, and Stephan Jaeger, 2012), one U.S. Amateur Champion (Steven Fox, 2012), four All-America Scholars (Derek Rende, 2009 and 2010, and Stephan Jaeger, 2011 and 2012), 12 PING All-East Region honorees and 21 All-Southern Conference selections, including Player of the Year five times (Jonathan Hodge, twice, and Stephan Jaeger, three times).
His Moc squads have made seven straight NCAA Regional appearances, winning the 2012 NCAA Bowling Green Regional, where Jaeger also captured medalist honors. Chattanooga advanced to the NCAA Championship twice, in 2009 and 2012.
Chattanooga won five SoCon Championships in his eight previous seasons. Jaeger was the 2012 SoCon medalist.
Three former coaches made the Hall, including all-time winningest basketball coach Mack McCarthy (1986-97) and softball coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. Former student-athletes inducted include: Reggie Gaddis, Danny Gilbert, Stewart Lawwill and Gary McIntyre.
McCarthy engineered a record of 243-122 in 12 seasons on the Mocs’ basketball bench. He led Chattanooga to six SoCon regular-season championships, five tourney titles with five trips to the NCAA tournament. His 1996-97 squad went to the Sweet 16.
He coached four SoCon Players of the Year (Keith Nelson, 1992; Tim Brooks, 1993; Chad Copeland, 1994; and Johnny Taylor, 1997). McCarthy recruited and coached Taylor, the program’s lone NBA first-round draft selection in 1997.
Ralph Weekly was head coach from 1995-98, amassing a record of 145-71, while Karen Weekly led the program in the 1999 and 2000 campaigns, posting a 97-42 record. They shared the position in 2001, finishing 49-18 before taking over at Tennessee. The duo won six SoCon regular-season titles and five tourney crowns, advancing to two NCAA Regionals.
The wrestling and men’s tennis programs are well-represented. Gaddis and Gilbert harken back to the early to mid-1970s Mocs mat powers. Gaddis was the MVP of the 1973 team, while Gilbert was on the 1976 DII national runner-up squad.
Lawwill was a part of four straight SoCon champion tennis squads. He won individual titles at No. 4 (1982) and No. 5 (1980 and 1983) singles and No. 1 (1983) and No. 2 (1983) doubles with Phillip Tuckniss. McIntyre won the 1973 Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at No. 6 singles.
The induction ceremony is March 3 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. It starts at 6:30 p.m., with tickets costing $35. Contact Hall of Fame President John Farr at 423-875-9282 for more information.