UTC women golfers prepare for stretch run

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s golf team has finished either first or second in every Southern Conference tournament in all 10 seasons under coach Colette Murray.

Five of those finishes have been SoCon championships, but the program hasn’t won a title in the past three years.

And that’s not good enough for Murray, who admitted Tuesday that she doesn’t like “not winning. “I hate it,” she said.

The Mocs are currently ranked fourth in the league with two regular-season tournaments remaining — this week at LSU and two weeks later at Mercer. The team’s individual stroke average of 74.64 is tied with East Tennessee State and the team stroke average is right around the same as both ETSU and UNC Greensboro. All three are slightly ahead of Mercer, with everybody chasing top10-ranked Furman.

But the regular season has been one thing; the SoCon tournament has been another. And the development of the players in the program is such that the team has been able to overcome all things surrounding the program.

“I don’t think we have players go backwards,” Murray said about what’s led to the program’s consistency. “I try to get a good player that wants to buy into the formula that I think helps develop players. Once they buy into that and they do the things I want them to do and trust that you can help them get there, we’re good.

“It seems to have worked.”

UTC men ninth

The UTC men’s golfers placed ninth in the Linger Longer Invitational at Eatonton, Ga., with a three-day total of 876 — the best of the season for the Mocs.

Luke Long shot a 1-underpar 215 to tie for 17th and take top honors for the Mocs. Lake Johnson, who shot a UTC-best 72 on Tuesday, shot a 219 while Andrew Weathers carded a 220. Oliver Simonsen finished at 225 while Etienne Brault tallied a 231.

The team was 2 over at the midway point of Tuesday’s action and slid down to even par after a Brault eagle on the par-4 11th hole but shot 12 over on the final seven holes

SoCon time in softball

After a 6-5 record in Clearwater, Fla., the UTC softball team starts SoCon action this weekend at home against Mercer.

The Mocs finished 14-17 in the nonconference portion of the schedule. Former Central standout Brook Womack is the team’s leading hitter, with a .413 average, three home runs and 20 runs batted in, while sophomore Celie Hudson and freshman Allison Swinford have emerged as the top pitching options.

Defense has been the Mocs’ biggest problem, with the team’s 50 errors and .946 fielding percentage second to only Samford for the worst marks in the league. The Mocs have committed multiple errors in 14 games, while going only seven without committing any.

After a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m., the Mocs and Bears will have one game Sunday at 2.