Monday, April 18
PGA National Resort & Spa / Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
University of North Texas
vs
Conference USA Championship
UNT, Tan Aiming To Repeat As C-USA Champs
4/16/2022 3:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
DENTON - At this time a year ago, the UNT women's golf team was heading to Florida in uncharted territory.
Sure, the Mean Green were the highest ranked team in the conference heading into the Conference USA Championship, but the thought of actually winning a ring was still foreign to the program.
Going into next week's C-USA Championship at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida's PGA National Resort & Spa, that is no longer the case.
Last year, UNT entered the final round of the tournament four shots back in second place and stormed to a win, while then-junior Audrey Tan birdied 16 and 17 to win the individual title by one stroke.Â
Now, beginning Monday and concluding Wednesday, the Mean Green have their eyes set on repeating as champions on both fronts.
"I often joke about how far this program has come," sixth-year UNT head coach Michael Akers said. "We are now the team to beat in C-USA. A few years ago we were just trying to beat anyone. Securing the at-large (NCAA Regional) bid before conference is always the goal. I always like to have fun at tournaments and play loose. It certainly helps to go into conference just playing for the ring and knowing we will be in the postseason."
While much is the same as last year, there are also some key differences - notably the graduation last year of the program's all-time greatest player, Lauren Cox, who is now a volunteer assistant coach and trying to earn her way onto the LPGA Tour. Just as many within the program suspected last year, Tan, now a senior, is right on Cox's heels in the record books and has stepped into the No. 1 spot seamlessly but also left open a hole she filled last year as a surefire No. 2 or possibly even a No. 1a on the roster. Tan's stroke average of 71.46 is on pace to break Cox's records she set the past two years for single-season low, while the program's depth has shown itself in helping the Mean Green climb to No. 44 in the rankings after last week's strong showing at The Bruzzy against the entire Big 12 conference.
Last year, then-junior Katie Finley was a shoo-in as the team's No. 3 golfer and had a top-10 scoring average in program history. This year, she's battled injury and only played in the team's first two tournaments in the fall, leaving a big void in the lineup. Last week leading up to The Bruzzy, Emilie Ricaud suffered an injury and missed just her second tournament in three years with the program. Senior Patricia Sinolungan has emerged as the team's No. 3 golfer and even won a tournament to open the spring season - leading her team to a win at the Tulane Classic with her first collegiate win. The addition of transfer Ellie Roth has also been huge, as she has the second-best scoring average on the team with a 74.00.Â
When Ricaud had to miss The Bruzzy, Akers' team got a big boost from sophomore Shreya Pal, who had a career-best finish of 13th after firing 1-under 71s in the final two rounds. The biggest boost might've come from junior Marija Jucmane, who has been in and out of lineup but posted a career-best round of 5-under 67 in Tuesday's final round to help the team finish fifth in the loaded field and beat several ranked Big 12 teams to virtually secure an NCAA Regional bid.
"Patty and Emilie have both stepped up their game this year," Akers said. "Katie had been a consistent contributor last year but due to an injury she only played the first two tournaments this year. The addition of Ellie Roth to the roster has been huge to cover that loss. Most recently, Shreya and Marija stepped up when Emilie was out of the lineup. We have nine on the roster this year, which is my largest team in over a decade but it has paid off.
"We have had another incredible year. It has been great to keep the momentum after Lauren's graduation. Audrey is rewriting the UNT record book that was just rewritten over the past few years."
While Tan would love a repeat on both fronts, she does take solace in the fact that the team has all but secured a bid to the NCAA Regional after last year's bid that ended up being canceled due to weather before a ball was ever teed up. And she's also ready to see a new course, as the C-USA championship will be contested at PGA National.
"I'm super excited to play PGA National, it's not every day you get to play and compete on a course that hosts a PGA tournament," Tan said. "So I'm mostly looking forward to the challenge the course will bring and enjoying a couple days of golf. It gives us a nice cushion and sense of freedom heading into conference knowing we have our regional bid. We're able to go out there and play the tournament without that stress."
Â
Sure, the Mean Green were the highest ranked team in the conference heading into the Conference USA Championship, but the thought of actually winning a ring was still foreign to the program.
Going into next week's C-USA Championship at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida's PGA National Resort & Spa, that is no longer the case.
Last year, UNT entered the final round of the tournament four shots back in second place and stormed to a win, while then-junior Audrey Tan birdied 16 and 17 to win the individual title by one stroke.Â
Now, beginning Monday and concluding Wednesday, the Mean Green have their eyes set on repeating as champions on both fronts.
"I often joke about how far this program has come," sixth-year UNT head coach Michael Akers said. "We are now the team to beat in C-USA. A few years ago we were just trying to beat anyone. Securing the at-large (NCAA Regional) bid before conference is always the goal. I always like to have fun at tournaments and play loose. It certainly helps to go into conference just playing for the ring and knowing we will be in the postseason."
While much is the same as last year, there are also some key differences - notably the graduation last year of the program's all-time greatest player, Lauren Cox, who is now a volunteer assistant coach and trying to earn her way onto the LPGA Tour. Just as many within the program suspected last year, Tan, now a senior, is right on Cox's heels in the record books and has stepped into the No. 1 spot seamlessly but also left open a hole she filled last year as a surefire No. 2 or possibly even a No. 1a on the roster. Tan's stroke average of 71.46 is on pace to break Cox's records she set the past two years for single-season low, while the program's depth has shown itself in helping the Mean Green climb to No. 44 in the rankings after last week's strong showing at The Bruzzy against the entire Big 12 conference.
Last year, then-junior Katie Finley was a shoo-in as the team's No. 3 golfer and had a top-10 scoring average in program history. This year, she's battled injury and only played in the team's first two tournaments in the fall, leaving a big void in the lineup. Last week leading up to The Bruzzy, Emilie Ricaud suffered an injury and missed just her second tournament in three years with the program. Senior Patricia Sinolungan has emerged as the team's No. 3 golfer and even won a tournament to open the spring season - leading her team to a win at the Tulane Classic with her first collegiate win. The addition of transfer Ellie Roth has also been huge, as she has the second-best scoring average on the team with a 74.00.Â
When Ricaud had to miss The Bruzzy, Akers' team got a big boost from sophomore Shreya Pal, who had a career-best finish of 13th after firing 1-under 71s in the final two rounds. The biggest boost might've come from junior Marija Jucmane, who has been in and out of lineup but posted a career-best round of 5-under 67 in Tuesday's final round to help the team finish fifth in the loaded field and beat several ranked Big 12 teams to virtually secure an NCAA Regional bid.
"Patty and Emilie have both stepped up their game this year," Akers said. "Katie had been a consistent contributor last year but due to an injury she only played the first two tournaments this year. The addition of Ellie Roth to the roster has been huge to cover that loss. Most recently, Shreya and Marija stepped up when Emilie was out of the lineup. We have nine on the roster this year, which is my largest team in over a decade but it has paid off.
"We have had another incredible year. It has been great to keep the momentum after Lauren's graduation. Audrey is rewriting the UNT record book that was just rewritten over the past few years."
While Tan would love a repeat on both fronts, she does take solace in the fact that the team has all but secured a bid to the NCAA Regional after last year's bid that ended up being canceled due to weather before a ball was ever teed up. And she's also ready to see a new course, as the C-USA championship will be contested at PGA National.
"I'm super excited to play PGA National, it's not every day you get to play and compete on a course that hosts a PGA tournament," Tan said. "So I'm mostly looking forward to the challenge the course will bring and enjoying a couple days of golf. It gives us a nice cushion and sense of freedom heading into conference knowing we have our regional bid. We're able to go out there and play the tournament without that stress."
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Bruzzy's Facility Tour | UNT Golf
Friday, November 04
Beyond the Green: Audrey Tan | UNT Athletics
Friday, July 08