The men’s and women’s golf teams traveled April 7-8 to Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., to participate in the Spring Hill Badger Invitational. The men’s team came in first place, and the girls were not far behind, coming in fourth place.
Head Coach Andy Rushing said he is pleased with the team effort the men’s team displayed at the tournament.
“This was our best team performance all year. Bryce Doughty has really stepped up his game and played like a true No. 1 player,” Rushing said. “Steven Cofflet gave us a big boost by playing up to his capability. Hunter Travis continued his solid play, and Andrew Knight played with consistency and made a huge putt on the second playoff hole under pressure.”
For the girl’s team, Lindsay McKree finished tying for second, as she has been one of the team’s most consistent performers this spring, Rushing said.
Despite McKree’s strong performance, the girl’s team came up a little short behind the host team Spring Hill, William Carey out of Mississippi, and the University of Mobile.
“The team didn’t play as well overall as I expected. My expectations have risen due to recent strong performances,” Rushing said. “Hopefully, we can regain our form for the conference tournament. It is a team sport, and the team can’t succeed unless all members contribute. Our strength should be our depth.”
Next up for the girl’s team is the Gulf South Conference Championship tournament April 21-22 in Tunica, Miss.
After such a strong performance for the men’s team in its last tournament, the team feels confident going into the Gulf South Conference Championships.
Sophomore accounting major Trey Whitnell is a member of the men’s team and spoke about how good it felt to get a solid team win right before the final tournament.
“We were down 12 strokes after the first day, and then ended up pulling ahead and winning the whole tournament,” said Whitnell. “This was our first tournament win as a team this year. Being able to win like we did is a huge confident booster before playing in the Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament.”
Coach Rushing and the team are prepping for the upcoming tournament by keeping their team mentality at the forefront of their minds, he said.
“We will have to be at our absolute best to compete in the Gulf South tournament. The ability is there; it just requires all five guys to bring their A-game,” said Rushing.
Whitnell said he is pleased with the team’s recent performance and commented on the mentality team members possess.
“Our determination, hard-work and Christ-centered attitudes have brought us to where we are today. Our tournament losses have pushed us to work harder and play with a chip on our shoulders,” said Whitnell. “We know that we are all focused on playing to the best of our abilities in every tournament, and we finally played well as a team at Spring Hill. Looking at my teammates, I know we have a great shot of doing well in the GSC Championships.”
