Women's Golf Opening Fall Slate With New Event

DENTON - The defending Conference USA champion UNT women's golf team will begin its fall schedule on Monday in a new event the Mean Green are hosting at Robson Ranch's Wildhorse Golf Club.

The Mean Green will play in three events this fall against stacked fields that they've grown accustomed to, as they will open with their own tournament before heading to Norman, Oklahoma, to play at the Sooner Schooner Fall Classic before ending the fall schedule at the Olde Stone Intercollegiate in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Before they hit the road, however, they'll be hosting the inaugural Sam Golden Invitational on Monday and Tuesday - a tournament that was put together in much less time than usual when the Mean Green hosts The Bruzzy in the spring. Like the fields at The Bruzzy every year, it's stacked with some of the top teams in the country.

Despite losing the program's most decorated player ever in Lauren Cox, who completed her fifth year of eligibility last season, the team is still shaping up to be a very talented and, once again, deep squad. The Mean Green return the remainder of last year's squad, including individual conference champion Audrey Tan, and add Kansas transfer Ellie Roth and freshman Chandler Browning. Cox is staying on as a volunteer assistant coach while she goes through Q-school.

Akers said he's been especially pleased with the growth of sophomore Shreya Pal's game, as she qualified for the lineup in the Sam Golden after going through the spring without playing for the team in a tournament.

"Our team has looked sharp recently during the qualifying process," Akers said. "I am very impressed with Shreya's improvement over the summer. She was not able to go home so stayed with family in Nebraska. I can tell she used her time to practice. Audrey is looking great as ever. Katie has put up some low rounds in qualifying. Patty and Emilie should also prove to
help the team."

Akers has always stressed the importance of playing top competition throughout the year, and the reasoning proved true last season when the team finished the year with a national ranking of No. 36 - a program best.

"Our fall schedule is very strong again. I have learned to only play against the best," Akers said. "The strength of schedule must be difficult if we expect to achieve the goal of being a top-30 program. Last year we defeated every Big 12 team except Baylor. That is an accomplishment I am very proud of. Golf is one of the rare sports that a team can schedule any opponent throughout the year. We certainly have taken advantage of that."

Sam Golden Invitational
Wildhorse Golf Club, Robson Ranch | Denton

The North Texas women's golf team kicks off the fall season by hosting the inaugural Sam Golden Invitational.

THE EVENT: Wildhorse Golf Club will play as a par-72 course at 6,288 yards. The teams will play 54 holes over two days beginning Monday with 36 holes and concluding Tuesday, with the final 18 holes. Both days will begin with 8:30 a.m., shotgun starts.

THE FIELD: There are 15 teams participating in the tournament (rankings are end-of-season Golfstat rankings from 2020-21): Charlotte, No. 28 Houston, K-State, No. 42 Mississippi State, Missouri, No. 36 North Texas, No. 32 Oklahoma, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 44 Purdue, TCU, Texas A&M, No. 27 Texas Tech, Tulane, No. 47 Tulsa, UTSA

REPRESENTING UNT: Competing for the Mean Green will be Audrey Tan, Patricia Sinolungan, Katie Finley, Emilie Ricaud and Shreya Pal. Chandler Browning, Marija Jucmane and Ellie Roth will compete as individuals.

RESULTS: Live scoring and final results will be posted on GolfStat.com. A full recap will be posted on MeanGreenSports.com at the end of the day.

LAST TIME OUT: UNT won the Conference USA championship - the first in program history - in April and then after having its NCAA Regional rained out, accepted an invite to the Let Them Play Classic in Arizona and won that event, as well. Tan won the individual title in both events.

MOVING UP: North Texas has made significant strides since head coach Michael Akers took over roughly five years ago. The Mean Green were ranked No. 201 following the 2015-16 season, and since Akers arrived in Denton, UNT has soared more than 150 spots from that time. The Mean Green ended last season ranked 36th.

AKERS SAYS: "I am excited to begin our season by hosting the Sam Golden Invitational. This is a tournament that I put together last minute compared to past events. The field is incredible and I am humbled that coaches place that kind in trust that our events will be first class. The Golden family has been very good to our program and this event aims to honor them."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Chandler Browning

Lauren Cox

Katie Finley

Marija Jucmane

Shreya Pal

Emilie Ricaud

Ellie Roth

Patricia Sinolungan

Audrey Tan

Upcoming Events

University of North Texas Athletics