VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a fall slate that saw three top-three finishes, including a season-opening victory at the King Invitational, the Carson-Newman women's golf team prepares for a spring schedule that holds five tournaments.
The team will participate in a pair of events in February and March before the South Atlantic Conference Championship in April.
"I think just that (the girls) are not afraid of their positions anymore and I think they're starting to realize that they are a top team, and it's nothing to fear but everything to embrace," head coach Suzanne Strudwick said of her team's start to the season. "They enjoy that position and I think they are excited to go out and prove it and beat some of our conference rivals in the spring."
The Eagles open the spring with a trip to St. Augustine, Fla. For the World Golf Hall of Fame Invitational hosted by Flagler College Feb. 5 and 6. This marks the Eagles first trip back to the event since Strudwick's first year with the team, finishing seventh in 2014.
At the end of February, the Eagles will travel back to the Sunshine State for their first appearance in the Women's Spring Intercollegiate hosted by Lincoln Memorial at the Golf Club at Fleming Island in Jacksonville.
"The golf courses that I've picked are good golf courses; they suit our players," Strudwick said. "With their confidence really high at the moment, I see our qualifiers being extremely challenging because everybody is going to want to go to Florida in February."
The end of March will be busy for Strudwick's crew as C-N takes on back-to-back tournaments. The Eagles head to the nearby Sevierville Golf Club Highlands for the Bobby Nichols Memorial Intercollegiate hosted by Tennessee Tech from March 18 to 20. This is the team's third appearance in the event, finishing fourth last season with Elizabeth England winning the event with a 6-over outing of 219.
The following week, the Eagles make their second consecutive appearance at the Sunoco Campbell Oil Classic at River Landings Golf Club in Wallace, N.C. Last year, the Eagles were the second-lowest shooting team in the field, closing out with a +49 total of 913.
"The first couple of events is like getting your feet wet, seeing where the teams are, seeing who's playing well, seeing if the team makeup has slightly changed," Strudwick mentioned. "Typically your last two events, you've pretty much solidified your team as to who's then going to go on and represent your school for the conference championships."
The SAC Championship will send the Eagles to The Members Club in Columbia, S.C. for three days of action from April 15 to 17. The Eagles have captured the Conference title three times, the most recent coming in 2015. Last season, the Eagles finished in seventh place while Elizabeth England set a SAC record with a tournament best -2 outing of 214 to capture the individual title, sending her to the NCAA Division II Championships South/Southeast Regional.
"I think the problems that we had last year were that we had one really good player with Elizabeth, she was just outstanding. I think that everybody else just tried to follow her coattails a little bit, but it was so obvious that the gap was so wide that she didn't have team help and so now she's got it," Strudwick said of the senior. "I think that's going to spur her on. One of her desires, one of her goals was for all of us to make regionals as she did last year and have that team back her up.
"The team dynamics this year has been absolutely wonderful so it's been a pleasure to coach them so I'm looking forward to the spring."
Feb. 5-6 World Golf Hall of Fame Invitational, Flagler Slammer and Squire-St. Augustine, Fla.
Feb. 26-27 LMU Women's Spring Intercollegiate Golf Club at Fleming Island-Jacksonville, Fla.
Mar. 18-20 Bobby Nichols Memorial Intercollegiate Sevierville Golf Club, Highlands-Sevierville, Tenn.
Mar. 26-27 Sunoco Campbell Oil Classic River Landings Golf Club-Wallace, N.C.
Apr. 15-17 South Atlantic Conference Championship The Members Club-Columbia, S.C.
