Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Monday, February 19
Miami, Fla.
Middle Tennessee
at
29th Annual Pat Bradley Championship
Photo by: Bradley Lambert
Linksters excited about start of spring season
2/18/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After spending weeks of practicing and qualifying in less than ideal playing conditions the Middle Tennessee women's golf team will head for warmer weather when they open the 2007 spring season in Miami, Fla.
Head Coach Rachael Short's Blue Raiders will play in the 27th annual Pat Bradley Championship at the Miccosukee Golf and Country Club Monday and Tuesday as Middle Tennessee opens what expects to be a competitive run this spring.
"It's going to be good to play in the warm weather conditions, for sure, but we are excited to be starting the season regardless," Short said. "The first tournament is always a little tough because of the weather we have practiced in and we are going to play in a tournament hosted by Florida International so there will be a lot of Florida schools. They have been able to practice more but a lot of it comes down to heart and determination to get in there and accomplish a goal."
Once again the goals are rather lofty for Short's linksters. After leading the program to nine straight Top 5 finishes in 2006-07, Short wants to see her veteran squad in the mix for similar success this spring.
"I definitely want to see our team get top five finishes throughout the (spring)," Short said. "Wins would be great and that's our goal but we want to continue to improve throughout the spring and be playing at our best when we go to the conference tournament. I do like our leadership and you have a great deal of that in Taryn (Durham) and Maggie (McGill). They should be the leaders of our team and having a lot of experience in those players will be passed along to the younger ones."
The team is led by Durham, a junior who is the defending SBC individual champion and McGill, a senior who has been through the wars, as has Jamey Dillard, another junior. Sophomores Mallory Bishop and Leigh Wilkins anchor the squad, while newcomers Clara Leathers and Tasha Gough provide quality depth and will be heavily counted upon this season.
Bishop has been outstanding in qualifying and will open playing No. 1 for the Blue Raiders in Miami.
"(Bishop) has been playing great, and I am looking forward to great things for her this semester," Short said. "We have quality players and they set their goals high. It's a matter of getting the right people in the right spots."
There's cause for optimism when you consider Middle Tennessee has four of the league's top 25 players from the fall in terms of stroke average. Durham was 11th overall with a 75.17, followed by McGill at 12th with a 75.56. Dillard was 20th with a 76.67 and Leathers was 24th with a 73.33.
"We had some players turn in very good fall tournaments and we hope that carries over," Short said. "Taryn did not win a tournament in the fall but I definitely think it's more important to her that our team does well and wins. She takes care of herself on the course and hopes everybody else will do the same but she is more about the team than she is herself."
Middle Tennessee will play six spring tournaments prior to the SBC Championships in Orlando, Fla., April 16-18.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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