CLEVELAND, Ga. (Sept. 5, 2019) – The Truett McConnell University women's golf team is set to begin their 2019-20 season at the Point University Invitational Saturday, September 7 – Sunday, September 8.
The Lady Bears will be returning four of their top five players from last season, Teagan Lovingood, Kiley Blackburn, Faith Reddick and Ava Rokosz, and will be without recent graduate Hannah Wall.
"They have worked extremely hard on their games this summer," Head Coach Steve Patton said. "Teagan finished her junior year and earned the player of the year due to her incredible spring performance. Kiley has been playing and practicing almost every day this summer and the hard work has really shown in significantly lower scores to start the fall campaign. Faith made some minor tweaks to her swing this summer and is poised and ready to have an outstanding season. Ava has potentially improved as much as any player on our roster with her hard work this summer and will be another tremendous asset to the program.
The other returning upperclassmen have also really been putting in a lot of time practicing this summer and have dramatically decreased their scores. Lillian Goff and Megan Edwards have both gained almost 30 yards each on their tee shot and are consistently shooting scores in the 40's during qualifying this fall. Leah Coker has dropped her 9-hole scores by 10 strokes over the summer with her hard work. Bailey Whitener has also put in a lot work and has been consistently shooting lower scores in qualifying as well."
TMU is also welcoming four newcomers to the team; Brooke Krieg, Hope Hewatt, Mikayla Simonton and Hannah Rhodes.
"Brooke comes in with a ton of playing experience having competed during the last several summers on the SJGT, GSGA, HJGT and Georgia PGA tournament circuit. She has stepped in immediately and qualified for the A team for the first tournament and we are excited about her passion and work ethic.
Hope has qualified for the first tournament of the year as an individual and earned her golf bag during the first qualifier of her collegiate career. Hannah has shown tremendous leadership for the team as a freshman and has an incredible desire to get better and work on her game. We are anxious to get Mikayla into the mix as she has been nursing an injury since she has arrived at TMU and we are hoping to have her out there in the near future.
I am entering into this season with great anticipation and excitement. The women's golf alumni have built a strong foundation over the last several years and helped create a different culture for our program. This group of ladies is excited about building on that culture and ushering in a new era for the TMU women's golf program. I suspect we will continue to shatter records this year, and continue to compete with joy and passion as we press on toward reaching new heights with our women's team. I know the players are excited to get the season started, and all of the coaches are fired up and ready to get to work!"
Saturday and Sunday's events will take place at the Point University Golf Club in Lanett, Alabama.
