University of North Texas Athletics
Women's Golf Ready To Finish The Job This Year
9/23/2020 1:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
DENTON - The last time the UNT women's golf team was in a competitive round, the Mean Green wrapped up their first tournament championship in nine years, and senior Lauren Cox won the first individual title in seven years.
Then, just hours later, chaos ensued.
The team's season - along with every other team's on campus - was halted unexpectedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, Cox, the most decorated golfer in program history, is back for another senior year, thanks to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to spring sport athletes whose seasons were cut short, and the Mean Green are out to finish what they'd started and reach their ultimate goal - a first-ever team berth in the NCAA tournament.
That journey starts Sunday when UNT opens its season with a trip up north to the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma, at Belmar Golf Club.
"We are very excited to get back into action at OU this weekend," head coach Michael Akers said. "It really feels like we just took an extended break from March. We have the exact same roster this fall, so it is very nice just getting right back into practice and not having to educate new players on how we operate."
The only change on the roster this fall will be on the coaching staff, where Lindsey McCurdy replaces Krista Puisite, who was a graduate assistant the past two seasons and now will move into a volunteer role. McCurdy is a full-time assistant coach and is making her college coaching debut after spending a couple of years on the LPGA Symetra Tour following a college career at SMU.
"Lindsey has been a welcome addition to the coaching staff, and we still have Krista to give insight to what has worked for certain players in the past," Akers said.
Cox is the leader of the team, as she has set new program records for season stroke average in each of the past two years, but she is far from being alone when it comes to successful pieces. Junior Audrey Tan posted the third best average in program history last season, while fellow junior Patricia Sinolungan posted the fifth-best average in program history.
Add in junior Katie Finley and sophomores Marija Jucmane and Emilie Ricaud, who earned a Conference USA Golfer of the Week honor last year, and the team has the depth needed to compete against the nation's best.
"I am very pleased how the ladies are performing in practice," Akers said. "Since most of their classwork is online they have been putting in extra reps on their own. One of the biggest reasons for the program's huge turnaround is recruiting players who want to play at the next level. They understand it takes dedication and hours of practice to take their games to the professional ranks."
"We will play against very good teams once again this year," added Akers, who always schedules tournaments with fields full of ranked teams. "The only way to be the best is to play against the best. It hurt us not being able to go to the postseason last spring due to the cancellation of the season. We want to be playing in May!"
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Then, just hours later, chaos ensued.
The team's season - along with every other team's on campus - was halted unexpectedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, Cox, the most decorated golfer in program history, is back for another senior year, thanks to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to spring sport athletes whose seasons were cut short, and the Mean Green are out to finish what they'd started and reach their ultimate goal - a first-ever team berth in the NCAA tournament.
That journey starts Sunday when UNT opens its season with a trip up north to the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma, at Belmar Golf Club.
"We are very excited to get back into action at OU this weekend," head coach Michael Akers said. "It really feels like we just took an extended break from March. We have the exact same roster this fall, so it is very nice just getting right back into practice and not having to educate new players on how we operate."
The only change on the roster this fall will be on the coaching staff, where Lindsey McCurdy replaces Krista Puisite, who was a graduate assistant the past two seasons and now will move into a volunteer role. McCurdy is a full-time assistant coach and is making her college coaching debut after spending a couple of years on the LPGA Symetra Tour following a college career at SMU.
"Lindsey has been a welcome addition to the coaching staff, and we still have Krista to give insight to what has worked for certain players in the past," Akers said.
Cox is the leader of the team, as she has set new program records for season stroke average in each of the past two years, but she is far from being alone when it comes to successful pieces. Junior Audrey Tan posted the third best average in program history last season, while fellow junior Patricia Sinolungan posted the fifth-best average in program history.
Add in junior Katie Finley and sophomores Marija Jucmane and Emilie Ricaud, who earned a Conference USA Golfer of the Week honor last year, and the team has the depth needed to compete against the nation's best.
"I am very pleased how the ladies are performing in practice," Akers said. "Since most of their classwork is online they have been putting in extra reps on their own. One of the biggest reasons for the program's huge turnaround is recruiting players who want to play at the next level. They understand it takes dedication and hours of practice to take their games to the professional ranks."
"We will play against very good teams once again this year," added Akers, who always schedules tournaments with fields full of ranked teams. "The only way to be the best is to play against the best. It hurt us not being able to go to the postseason last spring due to the cancellation of the season. We want to be playing in May!"
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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