VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After finishing in 13th at the fall finale at Flagler, Carson-Newman looks to get back on track during the spring with a four-event slate before the South Atlantic Conference Championship, as released by coach Suzanne Strudwick on Friday.
The second half of the 2019-20 season brings a pair of new and old events for the Eagles that will take them mostly back and forth between the Volunteer and Palmetto States.
"Our conference [tournament] is so early; it's at the first of April, so we basically only have March, the end of February and March to play," Strudwick said. "So, to fit in four events, that's the reason we ended up doing it that way. Once we get going, it's boom, boom, boom and then straight into conference which is great, so it's a shorter time period as in the past we've stretched it out a bit, but the girls just haven't been ready."
C-N will get its spring start a little late this year as it heads to Hilton Head, S.C. for Barton's Battle at Hilton Head from Feb. 24-25. This is the second-straight season Carson-Newman will be taking part in the event. Last year, the group's third-place showing was highlighted by an All-Tournament effort from Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) with a share of fifth on the leaderboard.
A busy March kicks off with another trip to South Carolina, this time for the Wingate Low Country Invitational at the Crescent Pointe Gold Club in Bluffton. This is the first trip to the event for C-N. The event is in its third year with Western Michigan winning both of the previous years.
The Eagles stay close to home for the middle event of the spring with a short trek to the Highlands Course at the Sevierville Golf Club for the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate from March 15-17. C-N has taken part in the event hosted by Division I Tennessee Tech for the past four seasons. Last year's fourth-place finish matched the best appearance the team has seen in the tournament. Cummins and Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the charge for C-N as the lone Eagles to land in the top-20.
March comes to a close as C-N heads back to the Palmetto State for its first appearance in the Cherokee Valley Women's Invitational at Travelers Rest's Cherokee Valley Golf Club from March 23-24. Coker and hosting North Greenville tied for the top spot in last year's five-squad field.
"North Greenville's event is a fantastic, old-style golf course," Strudwick said. "The girls are used to that style of golf, so I'm really hopeful that they will play well right as our last regular season event going into conference."
The Eagles head back up to the Woodlake Golf Club in nearby Tazewell, Tenn. for the South Atlantic Conference Championship from April 5-7. It has been nine years since C-N won the conference title, taking home the crown in both 2011 and 2009. The Eagles have finished in the top five in back-to-back seasons, including a fourth-place showing last year.
"Our only real, unless we win every single tournament, which is possible, absolutely, we're going to be working hard, but our only real chance as a team going to the regional is to going to win conference," Strudwick said. "Now with Wingate, with Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson, you know, they've played well, so we're going to have to play very well as a team. We're going to have to really get the team in the right frame of mind."
Cummins was the tournament's top medalist a year ago with a three-over 219, the third lowest 54-hole score in conference and event history. In program history, C-N has had three players win the individual title. Before Cummins, Elizabeth England took home the crown in 2017 while Sarah Jane Sinard won the event in the team's first season.
Strudwick's group is working to make its way back to the NCAA South Regional for the third time as a team. The Eagles took part in the regional tournament in 2011 and 2010 with fourth and seventh-place finishes, respectively. An individual clad in Orange and Blue has made it to the regional five times in program history, three of those coming in the last three seasons. Cummins took the best finish at the regional off all Eagles to make it as an individual with a share of 20th in 2019. C-N has never appeared in the National Final but was represented by Mary Tunnell in 2011, who finished in 27th.
Each event will feature a full recap with results on cneagles.com. Additional news and notes as the spring approaches can be found in real-time on Twitter from @CNathetics.
