JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men's golf coach Randy Wylie announced his team's 2015 Spring schedule that features two tournaments in the Volunteer State including one at the Eagles' home course.
Five tournaments round the 2014-15 season as Carson-Newman looks to repeat as South Atlantic Conference champions for the first time in school history.
The Eagles open the 2015 slate of their schedule on February 16th and 17th at the 2015 Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate in Orange Park, Fla. The tournament hosted by Wingate will be played at Fleming Island Golf Club, a par-71, 6688-yard course designed by Bobby Weed.
The second tournament of the season kicks off a stretch where the Eagles will play three tournaments in the span of four weeks. Carson-Newman will participate in the Benbow Invitational on March 9th and 10th in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Division-I foe Butler will host the tournament at Jacksonville Beach Golf Club. The Jacksonville Beach Golf Club is a municipal course opened in 1960.
"Well, we really want to get down and get in some excellent weather. We are a Southern school, but going down to Florida makes a big difference," Wylie said of the team's first two tournaments. "And last year, the first couple tournaments in the second one, they were playing in sleet and snow, so we kind of changed up the schedule a little bit to get in some warmer weather and some Division-I competition.
They should both be great tournaments, Wingate along with LMU cohost the first event and that's mid-February and then we around Spring Break time for the Benbow that Butler hosts."
The third tournament means a return trip to East Tennessee in an event hosted by Tennessee Tech at the Eagles' home course of Sevierville Golf Club. The Golden Eagles will host the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate on March 16th and 17th. The tournament will be played on Sevierville's River Course, a par-72 course that hosted the Smokey Mountain Intercollegiate in the Fall and last season's South Atlantic Conference Championship, an event C-N won.
"We are going to play some really tough competition in that event, but it is really cool that we are getting to play on a course that we have won a conference championship on," Wylie said of return trip home to Sevier County.
"We are very much hopeful that we will be able to compete with those programs and we feel really good about that. We are really excited Tennessee Tech invited us to that event."
The fourth and last regular season tournament will keep Carson-Newman in East Tennessee as the Eagles play in the Tennessee River Rumble Tournament on March 30th and 31st at the Tennessee National Golf Club. South Atlantic Conference foe Lincoln Memorial will host the tournament in Lenior City, Tenn. The par-72, 7,393-yard course will be the host course.
"This is the second year of the Tennessee River Rumble and it is played on one of the finest golf courses in Tennessee. I entered it just for the golf course. The kids are really excited to go down there, play Tennessee National," Wylie said. It's just a fabulous course and really looking forward to that. Playing a championship course like that should really prepare us for the SAC Championships."
The Eagles will return to the SAC Championships as reigning champion. Queens will be the host of the 2015 edition of the SAC Championships at Firethorn Country Club in Marvin, N.C. The par-72, 6,904-yard course will host all 12 SAC teams as the Eagles enter as the reigning champion for the first time since 2005.
"It will be tough. Queens is really good and there are several other good teams in the conference, but we think we can be really competitive and have proven it in the past. Hopefully, our guys will step up to the challenge" Wylie said of the SAC Championships.
The Eagles take flight to Florida for the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate in Orange Park on February 16th. Stay in tune with the Carson-Newman men's golf program prior to the tournament at cneagles.com or on Twitter at @cnathletics.
