Women's golf announces spring schedule

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After school-best second place finishes at the Sun Belt Conference Championship in both 2010 and 2011, the Middle Tennessee women's golf team will be looking to get over the hump in 2012, and have lined up another strong schedule to prepare them for the task.

For the fourth consecutive season Middle Tennessee will open up the spring season at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in Charleston, S.C., on February 26. Individually, a Blue Raider has placed in the top 15 in each of the events, which usually boasts of the NCAA's largest field of competitors each season.

"In my 15 years coaching, Kiawah is one of my favorite places to go," head coach Chris Adams said. "We play some great golf courses, and we've had some great weather each time we've gone down there too. There are going to be 34 teams down there, so it's a great test to start off the season."

The Blue Raiders will take a little bit of a break following the event, returning to action on March 19 at the Pinehurst Challenge in Pinehurst, N.C. The tournament will mark the first of three consecutive two-day 54-hole events.

"This is the first time that we'll be playing Pinehurst since I've coached here, and just being on the grounds of Pinehurst is sacred," Adams said. "There's a lot of history, and a lot of our girls have never been there. It's a treat to get to go, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Another repeat trip will be in the works a week later as Middle Tennessee will be participating in the UALR Women's Golf Classic at Diamante Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark., for the sixth consecutive season. Karisa Akin, Ashley Haggard and Olivia Love have each posted top five finishes at the tournament over the last two seasons, and Adams will be looking for more of the same in what annually amounts to a conference championship preview.

"There will be several of the conference's top teams there, and it's always one of the hardest golf courses that we play in the spring," Adams said. "We have a tendency to play a harder course better, and I think we've been pretty close there in the past few years. It's a nice event, and it's going to be one of our biggest challenges."

Middle Tennessee will close out the regular season on April 9 with a trip to Limestone Springs Golf Club for the Samford Women's Intercollegiate.

"I know that Limestone Springs is a pretty good course," Adams said. "I know that it's one of the top public courses in Alabama, and I'm excited that we'll be able to play a week before conference to keep us sharp. This will be our third straight 36-18 tournament, and I think playing those long two-round days can help prepare the team mentally."

Less than a week later, the Blue Raiders will open up play at the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Muscle Shoals, Ala. at The Shoals Golf Club. The Blue and White will be trying to replicate the successes of the previous two seasons, but there's a new twist in 2012 as they will be playing on the Fighting Joe course instead of The Schoolmaster.

"Knowing how good the last course was to us over the past two years, it's a little tough to be making the switch," Adams said. "There are certainly some differences. It's a lot longer and there's a lot of water. We played this course back in the fall, and it's definitely going to be a test. A couple of our players have also played a few times on their own, and I still like our chances."

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.