By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A sense of familiarity reigns supreme throughout the spring slate of the Tennessee Tech women's golf team's 2017-18 schedule, as the Golden Eagles get set to take part in five traditional events for the program.
Kicking things off in the month of February, Tech will return to Kiawah Island, S.C. for the third straight year and fifth time in the past six seasons for the Edwin Watts / Kiawah Island Spring Classic. The three-day event begins Sunday, Feb. 25 and will once again be hosted by the College of Charleston at the Kiawah Island Resort on the Osprey Point & Oak Point courses.
"We always enjoy that tournament," head coach Polk Brown explained. "It's great to play in such a beautiful place with great golf courses and in a massive field. It will represent a good chance to see where the women are headed into the meat of the semester."
As has been the tradition since the inaugural event in 2012-13, the Golden Eagles will play host to the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate in Sevierville, Tenn. at Sevierville Golf Club. The three-day event, which spans Mar. 18-20 on the River Course, was originally conceived as a way to honor former Tech head coach and TTU Sports Hall of Famer Bobby Nichols.
"It's always a great honor and privilege to be able to host a tournament in Coach's name," Brown expressed. "We have been very fortunate to host our event at Sevierville Golf Club and are truly thankful that the tradition will continue yet again this. Coach was such a good man and we miss him deeply. This is such an appropriate way for us to show our respect for him and everything he stood for and built with this program for over 30 years."
Next on the docket for the Tech squad is a date at the University Club at Arlington for Eastern Kentucky's annual Colonel Classic in Richmond, Ky. The two-day event will run Friday, Mar. 30 through Saturday, Mar. 31. The Golden Eagles will take part in the event for a fifth straight year.
Also a return trip on the schedule is the Jan Weaver Invitational, Murray State's annual tournament at Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Ky. While the Golden Eagles missed the event last season, they did participate each of the two seasons prior, returning for another opportunity against a field full of Ohio Valley Conference teams.
"Our tournament, EKU's tournament and Murray's tournament are all events that we've played in several times before," Brown said. "They each give us a chance to measure ourselves against several teams from the conference and get better prepared for the OVC Championships come mid-April."
The Golden Eagles will make their appearance in the OVC Championships Monday, Apr. 16 through Wednesday, Apr. 18 at a new venue for the event. Traveling south to Muscle Shoals, Ala., the league's postseason tournament will take place at The Shoals on the Schoolmaster Course, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
"The women are looking to put together some more consistent play than they did in the fall," Brown expressed. "That starts with our preparation back home. We'll have about six weeks to get ready for the first event. I think we'll come back ready to go and we'll see what we can put together. It will be a challenge, but I think they are ready for it and this semester is going to be a good one."
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
