Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Caudill sisters lean on each other in unique 2020 season
5/12/2020 5:00:00 PM | Women's Golf, BRAA
Murfreesboro, Tenn. — Caroline Caudill's alarm began to ring. Just like any other morning, she shut it off and headed off to wake up her sister Catherine. The two have a long day ahead. Being a student-athlete, 18 holes of golf, homework and workouts are all part of "the normal." Luckily for the Caudill sisters, they've always had each other to lean on, to compete against and to celebrate with. Despite the 2020 season coming to an abrupt halt, two of the Middle Tennessee women's golf teams' young stars haven't changed a thing. Just where it's all happened.
After Catherine gets out of bed, she rushes around in the morning as her sister reminds her to slow down and eat breakfast. Instead of eating together on campus, COVID-19 has forced them back to their childhood home in Clarksville, Tenn. While it may not be part of the everyday routine during the season, it's a routine they've done for years leading up to their time as Blue Raiders. Both on and off the course, they've fed off of each other's competitive personalities to excel in all aspects of life, even if it's getting a round in at Clarksville Country Club, which happens to be in their own backyard.
"Whenever we played (through the years), I was always determined to try and go out and beat her," Catherine said. "But we were completely different players. Caroline was always determined to go out and practice. Growing up, I went through a phase when I would read a lot, and while she was out practicing she'd come back to tell me to get out of the car to come hit, so she's always been there to nudge me to be better."
Whether it's reminding her younger sister to slow down and eat breakfast before a hectic day, or when she was tugging on her shirt to get her out of the car as a young girl, Caroline Caudill has always been there to push Catherine to new heights. Sure, while she may be the older sibling, she's never underestimated what her younger sister can do both on and off the course. Once she got her out of the car from reading books and onto the golf course, Caroline quickly found out how competitive her younger sister was. Growing up on the course together, the two were always neck-and-neck near the top of the leaderboards, something that drove them both into prominent high-school careers and earned each of them a spot on the Middle Tennessee roster.
"Being able to have the competitive partner and playing together helped us a lot once we got old enough to start competing in tournament play as we got older," Caroline said. "It was nice to have her out there because I could get a different look at things that she was doing and she would pay attention to things I was doing. She's just like a mini-me and a teacher at the same time."
Over the past two seasons, that competitive drive has proven to be one of the most important parts of the bond the Caudills share. As a freshman last year, Catherine put together arguably the greatest freshman season in program history. By the end of the year, she owned all four MT freshman records, including; a 75.19 stroke average, seven par or better rounds, a low 54-hole total of 212 and a low round of 66.
As one of three juniors on the roster this season, Caroline has helped fill an important role as one of the leaders on a team with no seniors. Aside from finishing with the second-lowest stroke average on the team this season, Caroline pulled of an amazing birdie-birdie-hole in one-birdie finish on the last four holes of the Cardinal Cup to post a 5-under par 67 in the final round, a score that matches the seventh best round in program history.
The momentum the Caudills have built throughout their careers came to a screeching halt in March as the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season abruptly.
"I didn't want to take steps backwards in the way that I've trained for golf," Caroline said. "On the good days, we've been on the course and on the bad day's we've been inside doing putting drills. It's been good to continue practicing and staying in the game mentally."
Off the course, the new normal has remained the old normal for the Caudills. Catherine still fights the urge to take a mid-afternoon nap when she has a pile of homework. So, to combat the urge, she and her sister head up to her mother's family business where they've cleared off a desk in a quiet corner of an office to work on homework and bounce any questions they have off of each other.
"Fortunately, the new normal is the old normal," Catherine said. "We live on the golf course where we used to practice every day and still can practice every day. Because of my mom's work being a family business, we can still also get that feeling of going to a different environment to do our school work rather than being at home."
To say that the 2020 season for any student-athlete has been unique would be a huge understatement. Luckily for Catherine and Caroline Caudill, their relationship and competitive drive hasn't changed a bit, making things as normal as possible for them in this unique time.
"My relationship with my sister never has and never will change and nothing can get in the way of that," Catherine said.
When the alarm goes off in Caroline's room this fall, it's likely she'll roll out of bed and realize Catherine isn't up yet. Catherine will always rush around in the mornings to get ready for her jam-packed schedule. They'll both try their absolute hardest to out-do each other on the golf course before finding a quiet place to go study at the end of the night. Until then, the Caudills will always have each other to lean on as they continue their time at Middle Tennessee.
"(Catherine) is my best friend," Caroline said. "Even through all of this, we've stuck together through thick and thin. This is just a hard time, but we'll get through it together."
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
After Catherine gets out of bed, she rushes around in the morning as her sister reminds her to slow down and eat breakfast. Instead of eating together on campus, COVID-19 has forced them back to their childhood home in Clarksville, Tenn. While it may not be part of the everyday routine during the season, it's a routine they've done for years leading up to their time as Blue Raiders. Both on and off the course, they've fed off of each other's competitive personalities to excel in all aspects of life, even if it's getting a round in at Clarksville Country Club, which happens to be in their own backyard.
"Whenever we played (through the years), I was always determined to try and go out and beat her," Catherine said. "But we were completely different players. Caroline was always determined to go out and practice. Growing up, I went through a phase when I would read a lot, and while she was out practicing she'd come back to tell me to get out of the car to come hit, so she's always been there to nudge me to be better."
Whether it's reminding her younger sister to slow down and eat breakfast before a hectic day, or when she was tugging on her shirt to get her out of the car as a young girl, Caroline Caudill has always been there to push Catherine to new heights. Sure, while she may be the older sibling, she's never underestimated what her younger sister can do both on and off the course. Once she got her out of the car from reading books and onto the golf course, Caroline quickly found out how competitive her younger sister was. Growing up on the course together, the two were always neck-and-neck near the top of the leaderboards, something that drove them both into prominent high-school careers and earned each of them a spot on the Middle Tennessee roster.
"Being able to have the competitive partner and playing together helped us a lot once we got old enough to start competing in tournament play as we got older," Caroline said. "It was nice to have her out there because I could get a different look at things that she was doing and she would pay attention to things I was doing. She's just like a mini-me and a teacher at the same time."
Over the past two seasons, that competitive drive has proven to be one of the most important parts of the bond the Caudills share. As a freshman last year, Catherine put together arguably the greatest freshman season in program history. By the end of the year, she owned all four MT freshman records, including; a 75.19 stroke average, seven par or better rounds, a low 54-hole total of 212 and a low round of 66.
As one of three juniors on the roster this season, Caroline has helped fill an important role as one of the leaders on a team with no seniors. Aside from finishing with the second-lowest stroke average on the team this season, Caroline pulled of an amazing birdie-birdie-hole in one-birdie finish on the last four holes of the Cardinal Cup to post a 5-under par 67 in the final round, a score that matches the seventh best round in program history.
The momentum the Caudills have built throughout their careers came to a screeching halt in March as the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season abruptly.
"I didn't want to take steps backwards in the way that I've trained for golf," Caroline said. "On the good days, we've been on the course and on the bad day's we've been inside doing putting drills. It's been good to continue practicing and staying in the game mentally."
Off the course, the new normal has remained the old normal for the Caudills. Catherine still fights the urge to take a mid-afternoon nap when she has a pile of homework. So, to combat the urge, she and her sister head up to her mother's family business where they've cleared off a desk in a quiet corner of an office to work on homework and bounce any questions they have off of each other.
"Fortunately, the new normal is the old normal," Catherine said. "We live on the golf course where we used to practice every day and still can practice every day. Because of my mom's work being a family business, we can still also get that feeling of going to a different environment to do our school work rather than being at home."
To say that the 2020 season for any student-athlete has been unique would be a huge understatement. Luckily for Catherine and Caroline Caudill, their relationship and competitive drive hasn't changed a bit, making things as normal as possible for them in this unique time.
"My relationship with my sister never has and never will change and nothing can get in the way of that," Catherine said.
When the alarm goes off in Caroline's room this fall, it's likely she'll roll out of bed and realize Catherine isn't up yet. Catherine will always rush around in the mornings to get ready for her jam-packed schedule. They'll both try their absolute hardest to out-do each other on the golf course before finding a quiet place to go study at the end of the night. Until then, the Caudills will always have each other to lean on as they continue their time at Middle Tennessee.
"(Catherine) is my best friend," Caroline said. "Even through all of this, we've stuck together through thick and thin. This is just a hard time, but we'll get through it together."
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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