Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Monday, April 16
Fort Myers, FL - Verandah Club
Middle Tennessee
at
Conference USA Championship
Raiders set to compete for C-USA Championship
4/15/2018 4:35:00 PM | Women's Golf
Long, Burris lead MT in their third trip to Verandah
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Middle Tennessee returns to one of its favorite courses this week as the Verandah Club is set to host the Conference USA Championship for the fourth season in a row.
The Par 72, 6,194-yard course is one the Blue Raiders have had great success on, winning the conference title in 2015 and 2016 in Fort Myers while coming in second in 2017 behind a 7-under par performance by now junior Jenna Burris that earned her the individual title.
"It's really nice to come back to a place that we're very familiar and comfortable with," Head Coach Chris Adams said. "It's a lot less stressful to come to a place that you don't have to figure out as much about and because of that I think we'll play with a lot more comfort and ease."
Fellow junior Hanley Long will lead the lineup into the Championship this week in the No. 1 spot. Long's 73.7 strokes per round average leads the Blue Raiders on the season.
"I'm really excited to be returning to Verandah," Long said. "We've had a lot of good memories the past couple of years and hopefully we can keep the momentum going. All of our families will be down here watching us so that will give us a sense of ease and confidence. I love our team dynamic and I'm stoked to see what we can accomplish this week."
Burris, boasting a 74.7 stroke average on the season will look to defend her individual title from the No. 2 spot in the Blue Raider lineup.
"I can't expect everything to happen exactly the same as it did last year, so I'm just going to try to play my best again without comparing rounds and shots," Burris said. "As a team, I think we are peaking at the right time and our freshmen are performing really well.
"We are the underdog this week, but quite frankly I think we play better that way. I'm excited for the shots we are going to face this week and the course is in great shape as usual."
Freshman Caroline Caudill, who has been stellar in Middle Tennessee's last two events with a Top 20 finish in Arizona and a Top 10 finish in Charleston to lead MT in both tournaments, will slot into the No. 3 spot in the MT lineup.
Senior Cynthia Bounleutay is also playing her best golf of the season with the second-best showing in each of MT's last two events and will hold the No. 4 spot on Monday.
Freshman Sophie Burks will take the final spot in the Blue Raider lineup in Fort Myers looking to continue a strong rookie campaign in which she has sported a 76.9 stroke average.
Middle Tennessee is the No. 3 seed going into the first round and will tee off in the first group alongside Old Dominion and UTSA. Old Dominion is the defending team champion while UTSA finished third a season ago behind the Blue Raiders.
Burks will tee off first for Middle Tennessee at 8:50 a.m. ET on the first tee. Live scoring can be followed on Golfstat.com.
The Par 72, 6,194-yard course is one the Blue Raiders have had great success on, winning the conference title in 2015 and 2016 in Fort Myers while coming in second in 2017 behind a 7-under par performance by now junior Jenna Burris that earned her the individual title.
"It's really nice to come back to a place that we're very familiar and comfortable with," Head Coach Chris Adams said. "It's a lot less stressful to come to a place that you don't have to figure out as much about and because of that I think we'll play with a lot more comfort and ease."
Fellow junior Hanley Long will lead the lineup into the Championship this week in the No. 1 spot. Long's 73.7 strokes per round average leads the Blue Raiders on the season.
"I'm really excited to be returning to Verandah," Long said. "We've had a lot of good memories the past couple of years and hopefully we can keep the momentum going. All of our families will be down here watching us so that will give us a sense of ease and confidence. I love our team dynamic and I'm stoked to see what we can accomplish this week."
Burris, boasting a 74.7 stroke average on the season will look to defend her individual title from the No. 2 spot in the Blue Raider lineup.
"I can't expect everything to happen exactly the same as it did last year, so I'm just going to try to play my best again without comparing rounds and shots," Burris said. "As a team, I think we are peaking at the right time and our freshmen are performing really well.
"We are the underdog this week, but quite frankly I think we play better that way. I'm excited for the shots we are going to face this week and the course is in great shape as usual."
Freshman Caroline Caudill, who has been stellar in Middle Tennessee's last two events with a Top 20 finish in Arizona and a Top 10 finish in Charleston to lead MT in both tournaments, will slot into the No. 3 spot in the MT lineup.
Senior Cynthia Bounleutay is also playing her best golf of the season with the second-best showing in each of MT's last two events and will hold the No. 4 spot on Monday.
Freshman Sophie Burks will take the final spot in the Blue Raider lineup in Fort Myers looking to continue a strong rookie campaign in which she has sported a 76.9 stroke average.
Middle Tennessee is the No. 3 seed going into the first round and will tee off in the first group alongside Old Dominion and UTSA. Old Dominion is the defending team champion while UTSA finished third a season ago behind the Blue Raiders.
Burks will tee off first for Middle Tennessee at 8:50 a.m. ET on the first tee. Live scoring can be followed on Golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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