Golden Eagle women plan to make their case for OVC Golf Championship
Seniors Maddi Everts and Megan Williamson lead the Tennessee Tech women's golf team into the OVC Championships this week, with the Golden Eagles seeking their first league crown since 2001.
• 2016 OVC Women's Golf Championship Information Page
By Rob Schabert, Assistant athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – They have written their names throughout the Tennessee Tech women's golf record books. They have wracked up 17 Top Five tournament finishes in the past four years, including six this year alone.
The one thing that seniors Maddi Everts and Megan Williamson would like to add to their resumes as members of the Tennessee Tech women's golf team is that elusive Ohio Valley Conference championship.
That pair will have its final chance this week when the Golden Eagles vie for the OVC crown, Monday through Wednesday on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in the state of Alabama. The 54-hole championship will be held at Hampton Cove in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, just outside Huntsville.
Everts was a freshman in 2011-12, and the Golden Eagles finished sixth. She sat out the next year when Williamson was a true freshman, and once again it was sixth place finish at the conference affair. In 2014, the team jumped one spot to a fifth place showing, and last year the Golden Eagles finished third.
Coach Polk Brown's team is hoping the trend upward continues. Tech is bidding for its fifth OVC women's golf crown overall, the first since winning back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001. Tech's previous two championship also came in consecutive seasons, with trophies hoisted in 1994 and 1995.
Williamson, co-holder of the school-record for the lowest 54-hole score at 218, will fill the No. 5 spot in Brown's lineup. Everts, whose career-best was a 220 to rank third in school history, is in the No. 3 position.
Another Golden Eagle veteran, junior Whitney Robertson has grabbed the No. 2 spot in the five-player lineup. Robertson shares the school-record 218 score with Williamson. Robertson has shined in the event, winning OVC all-tournament honors each of the past two seasons.
The remaining two spots in the lineup will be filled by newcomers to the Golden Eagle roster this season, with sophomore Allyson Dunn at No. 1 and freshman Hollee Sadler at No. 4. Dunn shot a 69 this season, the second-best round in school history (behind a 67 by Everts), and has also carded a 220 over 54 holes. Sadler is one of three players in the lineup this week to own an all-tournament honor this season. Robertson has one, while Dunn has earned three Top Five individual finishes for all-tourney laurels.
GOLDEN EAGLE LINEUP: It will be a fairly veteran lineup for coach Polk Brown, with two seniors, one junior, one sophomore and one freshman. Tech's lineup will include sophomore Allyson Dunn in the No. 1 position, followed by junior Whitney Robertson, senior Maddi Everts, freshman Hollee Sadler, and senior Megan Williamson.
THE COMPETITION: The OVC women's golf title will be contested amongst the 10 women's teams that sponsor the sport - Austin Peay, Belmont, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Murray State, SIUE, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.
LAST YEAR AT THE OVC: After three grueling rounds at Hampton Cove, the Tennessee Tech women's golf team held on for a third-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, wrapping up the three-day event with a 914 overall score. Eastern Kentucky edged out Jacksonville State by one stroke to capture the 2015 OVC title, but for the Golden Eagles, the squad managed its highest finish in the league's annual championship since 2004 when the team took home second place. After tallying scores of 304 in each of the first and second rounds, Tech concluded its run at the OVC Championship with a third-round 306. Whitney Robertson led the Golden Eagles on the final day of play, matching her second-round total of 75 to finish with a 220 overall and take home third place in the field of 50.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH BROWN: "We are very excited to get back down to Hampton Cove for this year's OVC Championship. After a solid showing last year (came in 3rd), we look to put ourselves in great position come the last day. The weather looks to be good, and the golf course sets up very well for our team. It has been a successful season, and we look to continue that at conference. We anticipate a great run for the title."
LIVE SCORING: Live scoring results from each day of the championship can be accessed through links at OVCSports.com
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: The student-athletes will begin with a practice round on Sunday before the opening round starts on Monday at 8 a.m.
The annual awards dinner will be held following the first round of play on Monday, April 18, honoring the 10-member All-OVC team as well as the All-Newcomer Team and Freshman of the Year. The OVC Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, as well as All-Tournament and Tournament MVP awards, will be presented at the conclusion of the championship on Wednesday.
