Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Photo by: C-USA
Women's Golf Repeats as C-USA Champs
4/20/2016 2:18:00 PM | Women's Golf
Blue Raiders run away with title on final day
Final Results
FORT MYERS, Fla. – With an four-under par effort on Wednesday, the Middle Tennessee women's golf program cruised to its second consecutive Conference USA title on the final day at the Verandah Club in Fort Myers.
The Blue Raiders fired a team score of 284 in round three, the best round of the tournament by any team, to finish 13 strokes clear of Old Dominion with a three-day total of 12-over par (296-296-284=876).
The Blue Raiders finished the tournament in dominating fashion, logging 10 birdies as a team in the final four holes of the competition to pull away to a commanding lead late in the final round.
"I'm still in a daze after all of those birdies we had at the end," head coach Chris Adams said. "Still in a little bit of shock. It's just an amazing feeling to win the conference again.
"It was kind of hard to keep track of the scores out there and I really had no idea where we were down the stretch but I knew it was going to be close. I knew all we had to do was stick to the plan because we love the back nine and have made a lot of birdies there. We just had to stay patient."
The C-USA Championship is not only Middle's second in two years, but is the second conference title in the history of the program, which has consistently climbed the national rankings under the direction of Adams.
The title also means the Blue Raiders are headed to their second NCAA Regional on May 5-7 after appearing in the St. George, Utah, Regional a season ago. This season's NCAA Regional sites are Shoal Creek, Ala., Baton Rouge, La., Bryan, Texas and Stanford, Calif.
True freshman Hanley Long led Middle Tennessee from start to finish, firing back-to-back rounds of even par on the first two days before a final round 71 (-1) – which included four consecutive birdies on the final four holes – gave her a three-round total of one-under 215 and landed her a runner-up finish in Fort Myers.
Long is the second Blue Raider in two years to earn a runner-up finish at the C-USA Championship after Samantha Gotcher did so in 2015 with a stellar nine-under par performance.
Senior Emily Miller fired the best round of the tournament in the field of 55 with a five-under 67 on the final day to shoot up the leaderboard and tie with Long for second place with a 54-hole total of two-over par (75-76-67=218).
"I started out the day wanting to shoot low but [assistant coach] Mackenzie [Moir] kept me calm," Miller said. "It's awesome as a senior to win the conference again as a team."
Gotcher recorded a strong performance again in 2016, finishing alone in fifth place with a three-day total of three-over par (75-73-71=219).
Jenna Burris used three birdies on the back nine to jump back into the top 10 after being there following the first and second rounds. The redshirt freshman finished at eight-over par (74-75-75=224) to grab a tie for eighth place.
Senior Avery George rounded out the Middle Tennessee lineup with a top 25 finish, carding a 13-over par (75-76-78=229) performance for the tournament to tie for 23rd.
MT dominated on the par 4 holes (4.14, +21) and par 5 holes (5.03, +2) while having the second best par 3 scoring average (3.03, +2) in the field. The Raiders also logged a championship-high 48 birdies in the tournament.
Long led the Blue Raiders and the field in total birdies with 14, followed closely by Miller's 12. Long also finished even par on the par 4 and par 5 holes while going one-under on the par 3 holes.
Only Jenna Burris bested Long in any of the categories with her one-under par (4.92) performance in par 5 scoring.
The Blue Raiders now await the NCAA Championship Selection Show to find out their NCAA Regional destination. The show airs on the Golf Channel on Monday, April 25 from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Adams and the Middle Tennessee women's golf program will gather to watch the selection show at Sam's Sports Grill and would like to invite all Blue Raider supporters to join them for the event as they look forward to their second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
"The seniors have laid the foundation for the success of this team and we plan on building on it," Adams added. "I am so proud of this team. Winning back to back championships is pretty special."
FORT MYERS, Fla. – With an four-under par effort on Wednesday, the Middle Tennessee women's golf program cruised to its second consecutive Conference USA title on the final day at the Verandah Club in Fort Myers.
The Blue Raiders fired a team score of 284 in round three, the best round of the tournament by any team, to finish 13 strokes clear of Old Dominion with a three-day total of 12-over par (296-296-284=876).
The Blue Raiders finished the tournament in dominating fashion, logging 10 birdies as a team in the final four holes of the competition to pull away to a commanding lead late in the final round.
"I'm still in a daze after all of those birdies we had at the end," head coach Chris Adams said. "Still in a little bit of shock. It's just an amazing feeling to win the conference again.
"It was kind of hard to keep track of the scores out there and I really had no idea where we were down the stretch but I knew it was going to be close. I knew all we had to do was stick to the plan because we love the back nine and have made a lot of birdies there. We just had to stay patient."
The C-USA Championship is not only Middle's second in two years, but is the second conference title in the history of the program, which has consistently climbed the national rankings under the direction of Adams.
The title also means the Blue Raiders are headed to their second NCAA Regional on May 5-7 after appearing in the St. George, Utah, Regional a season ago. This season's NCAA Regional sites are Shoal Creek, Ala., Baton Rouge, La., Bryan, Texas and Stanford, Calif.
True freshman Hanley Long led Middle Tennessee from start to finish, firing back-to-back rounds of even par on the first two days before a final round 71 (-1) – which included four consecutive birdies on the final four holes – gave her a three-round total of one-under 215 and landed her a runner-up finish in Fort Myers.
Long is the second Blue Raider in two years to earn a runner-up finish at the C-USA Championship after Samantha Gotcher did so in 2015 with a stellar nine-under par performance.
Senior Emily Miller fired the best round of the tournament in the field of 55 with a five-under 67 on the final day to shoot up the leaderboard and tie with Long for second place with a 54-hole total of two-over par (75-76-67=218).
"I started out the day wanting to shoot low but [assistant coach] Mackenzie [Moir] kept me calm," Miller said. "It's awesome as a senior to win the conference again as a team."
Gotcher recorded a strong performance again in 2016, finishing alone in fifth place with a three-day total of three-over par (75-73-71=219).
Jenna Burris used three birdies on the back nine to jump back into the top 10 after being there following the first and second rounds. The redshirt freshman finished at eight-over par (74-75-75=224) to grab a tie for eighth place.
Senior Avery George rounded out the Middle Tennessee lineup with a top 25 finish, carding a 13-over par (75-76-78=229) performance for the tournament to tie for 23rd.
MT dominated on the par 4 holes (4.14, +21) and par 5 holes (5.03, +2) while having the second best par 3 scoring average (3.03, +2) in the field. The Raiders also logged a championship-high 48 birdies in the tournament.
Long led the Blue Raiders and the field in total birdies with 14, followed closely by Miller's 12. Long also finished even par on the par 4 and par 5 holes while going one-under on the par 3 holes.
Only Jenna Burris bested Long in any of the categories with her one-under par (4.92) performance in par 5 scoring.
The Blue Raiders now await the NCAA Championship Selection Show to find out their NCAA Regional destination. The show airs on the Golf Channel on Monday, April 25 from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Adams and the Middle Tennessee women's golf program will gather to watch the selection show at Sam's Sports Grill and would like to invite all Blue Raider supporters to join them for the event as they look forward to their second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
"The seniors have laid the foundation for the success of this team and we plan on building on it," Adams added. "I am so proud of this team. Winning back to back championships is pretty special."
Players Mentioned
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