Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Monday, February 17
Gulfport, Miss.
Middle Tennessee
vs
Great River Cup
Blue Raiders set to open spring season at Great River Cup
2/16/2025 2:05:00 PM | Women's Golf
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – After a successful opening fall season for head coach Lauren Wamsley's Middle Tennessee women's golf team, the program is set to open the 2025 spring slate with a match play event. The team will travel to the Great River Cup to take part in its first match play competition of the season from February 17-18.
THE FIELD
Middle Tennessee is one of eight teams traveling to Mississippi to take part in the tournament. The team will be joined by host University of Louisiana Monroe, Arkansas State, Little Rock, James Madison, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Utah Valley. Each program will field a five-player lineup, with each school except ULM bringing an individual. Southern Miss will bring two individual competitors along with their lineup.
THE BLUE RAIDERS
In the top spot for the Blue Raiders for the second-consecutive tournament is Abbie Lee, the lone senior traveling. In the last tournament, Lee had a difficult outing, finishing T58, while shooting 233 (+20). Her best finish of the fall season was at the Cardinal Cup, the first competition she participated in, where she finished T16. The Kentucky native finished just one above par at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate to place at T22.
Ella Manley will start in the second spot for the team after a spring season that saw her earn a top-10 finish at the Cardinal Cup. Her final round of the fall season was her best of the tournament, wrapping up with a 75 (+4) to finish at 228 (+15) at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate. She'll look to continue dropping her scoring average as she competes in her first match play event of her collegiate career.
Also competing in her first match play competition is Nicole Johnson, who continues to get better as the campaign goes on. The sophomore had a difficult start to the fall season, but earned her best finishes in the final two tournaments of the fall, a 217 (+1) at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate and a 224 (+11) at the Mercedes-Benz.
Competing in the four-spot is Jillian Bowman, another sophomore who is getting her first spot in the official lineup at the Great River Cup. She competed in two tournaments in the fall as an individual, placing in the top-50 in both.
Wrapping up the five-person lineup for the Blue Raiders is Lanie Campbell, a mainstay in the MTSU lineup. The junior finished just outside the top-25 at the last tournament of the fall, carding a 222 (+9) to place T26 at the Mercedes-Benz. She earned a top-15 finish at the Cardinal Cup and remains one of the most consistent golfers on the team, averaging a 74.8 in the first five tournaments.
Caroline Pardue will make her return to the course in Mississippi as an individual competitor for Middle Tennessee. The freshman competed in one tournament in the fall at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational and was able to bounce back after a tough 11-over-par opening round to finish the tournament at 238 (+22) in her collegiate debut.
THE COURSE
The Windance Country Club was designed by Mark McCumber in 1986 and is an 18-hole championship course that features over 6,600 yards of challenging golf. The course is named Golfweek Magazine's "Best Places You Can Play" virtually ever year and has a four-star rating by Golf Digest Magazine. Windance has played host to both the Ben Hogan and Nike Tours.
THE TOURNAMENT
The tournament will be played as a match play competition, with Middle Tennessee entering as the No. 2 seed. The first round will start with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Monday morning, where the Blue Raiders will compete against James Madison. The semifinals will be held Monday afternoon and the final round of action is set for Tuesday morning. ULM won the first edition of the Great River Cup last year and will look to defend the title as the top seed in the tournament.
THE FIELD
Middle Tennessee is one of eight teams traveling to Mississippi to take part in the tournament. The team will be joined by host University of Louisiana Monroe, Arkansas State, Little Rock, James Madison, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Utah Valley. Each program will field a five-player lineup, with each school except ULM bringing an individual. Southern Miss will bring two individual competitors along with their lineup.
THE BLUE RAIDERS
In the top spot for the Blue Raiders for the second-consecutive tournament is Abbie Lee, the lone senior traveling. In the last tournament, Lee had a difficult outing, finishing T58, while shooting 233 (+20). Her best finish of the fall season was at the Cardinal Cup, the first competition she participated in, where she finished T16. The Kentucky native finished just one above par at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate to place at T22.
Ella Manley will start in the second spot for the team after a spring season that saw her earn a top-10 finish at the Cardinal Cup. Her final round of the fall season was her best of the tournament, wrapping up with a 75 (+4) to finish at 228 (+15) at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate. She'll look to continue dropping her scoring average as she competes in her first match play event of her collegiate career.
Also competing in her first match play competition is Nicole Johnson, who continues to get better as the campaign goes on. The sophomore had a difficult start to the fall season, but earned her best finishes in the final two tournaments of the fall, a 217 (+1) at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate and a 224 (+11) at the Mercedes-Benz.
Competing in the four-spot is Jillian Bowman, another sophomore who is getting her first spot in the official lineup at the Great River Cup. She competed in two tournaments in the fall as an individual, placing in the top-50 in both.
Wrapping up the five-person lineup for the Blue Raiders is Lanie Campbell, a mainstay in the MTSU lineup. The junior finished just outside the top-25 at the last tournament of the fall, carding a 222 (+9) to place T26 at the Mercedes-Benz. She earned a top-15 finish at the Cardinal Cup and remains one of the most consistent golfers on the team, averaging a 74.8 in the first five tournaments.
Caroline Pardue will make her return to the course in Mississippi as an individual competitor for Middle Tennessee. The freshman competed in one tournament in the fall at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational and was able to bounce back after a tough 11-over-par opening round to finish the tournament at 238 (+22) in her collegiate debut.
THE COURSE
The Windance Country Club was designed by Mark McCumber in 1986 and is an 18-hole championship course that features over 6,600 yards of challenging golf. The course is named Golfweek Magazine's "Best Places You Can Play" virtually ever year and has a four-star rating by Golf Digest Magazine. Windance has played host to both the Ben Hogan and Nike Tours.
THE TOURNAMENT
The tournament will be played as a match play competition, with Middle Tennessee entering as the No. 2 seed. The first round will start with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Monday morning, where the Blue Raiders will compete against James Madison. The semifinals will be held Monday afternoon and the final round of action is set for Tuesday morning. ULM won the first edition of the Great River Cup last year and will look to defend the title as the top seed in the tournament.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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