Women's golf releases fall schedule

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee women's golf program will play in five tournaments during the fall season as announced by head coach Chris Adams on Thursday.

"We're playing in five new tournaments this fall and playing some courses that the team hasn't played on before," said Adams. "It should be a tougher schedule than in years past, and we're going to see a lot of teams that we don't usually see. Having lost only one player from last year's team, I think we'll get a real sense of where we are as a team early in the season."

The Blue Raiders will start off the fall campaign with a trip to Bloomington, Ind., to play in the 2010 Indiana/Kentucky Challenge at the IU Golf Course, starting on Sept. 10. The three-day event, hosted by both Indiana University and the University of Kentucky, is slated to feature a strong field.

"We're starting out very early, and heading up there right after school gets started, which will be tough," said Adams. "But the players are coming off a good summer of playing and practicing. They're always ready to go when they come in for the fall."

A week later, Middle Tennessee will go to Waynesville, N.C., for the Great Smokies Women's Intercollegiate. Hosted by Western Carolina University, the two-day 36-hole event will be held at the Waynesville Inn Spa and Golf Resort and will begin on Sept. 18.

"It's another new tournament at a place we haven't played at before," said Adams. "The course is supposed to be relatively short, and playing two 18-hole days is definitely preferable over playing a 36-hole day and an 18-hole day. We'll be facing some teams from the east coast that we haven't seen before, and it should be a fun event."

The Blue Raiders will then wrap up September with another three-day event, the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic in Norman, Okla. The University of Oklahoma's Jimmie Austin Golf Course is hosting the event, which starts on Sept. 24.

"We'll be playing on a great golf course, and probably one of the most challenging courses that I've ever played," said Adams. "There should be a number of strong teams, including some from the Big 12. It will be a good test, that's for sure."

After a couple weeks off, Middle Tennessee will head back to Oklahoma, this time for the University of Tulsa's Eye of the Hurricane Women's Invitational. The three-day event will be held at Patriot Golf Club in Tulsa and begin on Oct. 11.

"This tournament will probably feature the strongest field of the fall," said Adams. "It's a brand new tournament, and we're going to be tested against some teams that are ranked in the top thirty or forty in the country. For us to get where we want to be at the end of the year, we have to play in these tough tournaments."

The Blue Raiders will finish the fall season with a trip to Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C., for the Paladin Invitational. The three-round event will start on Oct. 29.

"This is another course that we haven't played, and I think we'll see some more teams that we don't normally see," said Adams. "It presents a great opportunity for us to improve ourselves and help our confidence."

Middle Tennessee plans to build on the successes of a spring season that saw the Blue Raiders break a number of records on the way to the school's best finish ever at the Sun Belt Tournament.

"I think this is a team that knows they can compete with some of the best," said Adams. "They know where they want to be, and they've all been working hard on their games this summer. I think they realize what they are capable of this season."

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