Spartans Set To Open 2008-09 Season
9/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 14, 2008
Spartanburg, S.C. - The USC Upstate women's golf team is set to tee it up for the first time in 2008-09 as the Spartans open the season Monday at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate at the 5,922-yard, par-72 Waynesville Country Club.
"The golf course is not a long course, but is set in the mountains with small, narrow greens with undulations on and around the greens," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "We need to stay focused and accurate to shoot good scores. We have lacked the fire to finish rounds and shoot low scores in the past and we will need to find that fire. I know they have it in them."
The tournament, hosted by Western Carolina, is a 22-team event featuring A-Sun conference foes Belmont, Jacksonville and Mercer, as well as the host Catamounts, Elon, Old Dominion, Morehead State, Tennessee Tech, Winthrop, Wofford, Appalachian state, Marshall and Samford. The 36-hole event will conclude Tuesday as the Spartans are making their first appearance in the tournament.
Upstate will look to build on a solid season turned in a year ago, the program's first on the NCAA Division I level. The Spartans played in 10 tournaments in 2007-08, finishing in the top-five in three events and in the top 10 in nine outings. Richia Wedzik led the Spartans with a 79.7 stroke average, bettering sister Richelle by one-tenth of a stroke.
The Spartans will call upon a veteran group of players in this tournament, as well as the season. Lawton will utilize five seniors in the tournament, led by Julie Miller who qualified first for the tournament. In addition to Miller, Richelle Wedzik, Richia Wedzik, Jessica Wofford and Audrey Church will look to get the Spartans off to a good start this season.
"We have as much experience as anyone in the field," said Lawton. "We played some good rounds in qualifying and they are ready to play. I am looking for our veteran players to step up and deliver with the leadership and results I know they can provide."
Now in their fourth year in the lineup for the Spartans, Miller and Wofford have been in the lineup since the program was established and began play in 2004. The Wedzik sisters transferred to Upstate after spending their freshman season at Coastal Carolina, while Church came to the Spartans after a year at Winthrop.
