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Ten tournaments equally split between the fall and spring semesters comprise Western Carolina’s 2021-22 women’s golf schedule unveiled today by head coach Courtney Gunter. The slate includes a trio of regular-season tournaments in both North and South Carolina with all 10 events spread across the southeastern United States with a pair of match-play events.
The Catamounts open the season in late September in Springfield, Tenn., at the APSU Intercollegiate and culminate the season at the 2022 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship in mid-April at Barefoot Resort & Golf – Dye Course in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. The team champion from the event garners the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA postseason.
“We’re looking forward to getting back out there for what is hopefully a more ‘normal’ season this fall,” said Gunter, who is entering her fourth season at the helm. “We will be playing some great golf courses throughout the year against many different teams. We are eager to travel south to Florida and Alabama, but equally as excited to be playing in a couple of events close to home such as Asheville in November and Mimosa Hills in April.”
Western Carolina’s schedule opens Sept. 27-28 at the APSU Intercollegiate, hosted by Austin Peay at the Legacy Club in Springfield, Tenn. The three-round event features 36 holes on the opening day with the final 18 on day two.
A busy October includes three events for WCU, opening Oct. 4-5 with an eight-team match-play event hosted by North Carolina A&T in the Aggie Invitational at the Bryan Park Players Course in Greensboro. Two weeks later, the Catamounts play in the first of back-to-back events in South Carolina, traveling to the Oak Point Golf Club on Kiawah Island for Charleston Southern’s Buccaneer Classic. The month closes at the Terrier Intercollegiate at the Country Club of Spartanburg. WCU last competed at the event in the fall of 2018.
The fall semester closes close to home as WCU travels to The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden, N.C., just outside of Asheville for the three-day, 54-hole French Broad Intercollegiate hosted by UNC Asheville.
WCU’s spring schedule includes four tournaments ahead of the conference championship, opening in early February at the Sheraton Panama City Beach (PCB) Golf & Spa Resort in Panama City Beach, Fla. Hosted by Lipscomb, the Lady Bison Bay Point Classic includes 54-holes over two days at the destination location on the Florida panhandle.
Two events in March opens with the Oyster Shuck Match Play event hosted by SoCon-foe, The Citadel, at the Charleston Municipal Golf Course in Charleston, S.C. Two weeks later, the Catamounts return to the Gulf Coast for the Bama Beach Bash, hosted by the University of South Alabama in Gulf Shores, Ala. The three-day event will be hosted at the Gulf Shores Golf Club.
WCU’s final tune-up before the conference championship comes at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate, hosted by Appalachian State at the Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton, N.C. This year marks the ninth time since helping co-found the event with App State back in 2009 that the Catamounts will participate in the tournament in the western North Carolina foothills.
The 2022 SoCon Women’s Golf Championship has a new home for 2022 as the three-day, 54-hole championship event will be held at the Barefoot Resort & Golf – Dye Course in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., April 17-19.
Western Carolina’s roster features four golfers from a season ago, though just two saw competitive action in the altered 2020-21 season. The Catamounts return their top two scorers in junior Victoria Ladd and the team’s lone senior in Madison Isaacson, who finished 1-2 on the team in stroke average a season ago. Both products of Greensboro, N.C., Ladd led WCU with a scoring average of 76.58 – 19th overall in the SoCon – while Isaacson ranked second at 77.05, 25th in the league.
WCU’s top two scorers are flanked by junior Bailee Twiford and redshirt freshman Kayleigh Baker, neither of which competed in 2020-21. Twiford competed in six events as a freshman in 2019-20, posting a scoring average of 78.13 and Baker missed her freshman season due to injury.
Gunter added a trio of newcomers including sophomore walk-on Trinity Ahing from New Bern, N.C., who attended WCU last year but did not participate in golf activities. Ahing was a North Carolina All-State selection at New Bern High in 2019. The two Catamount freshmen include Elizabeth Lohbauer (Venice, Fla. / Cox Mill (N.C.) HS) and international addition Kaitlyn Wingnean (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).
“After graduating five players last spring, the team looks quite different this season,” said Gunter. “But I can’t wait to get out there with them at practice and competitions. I believe we have a strong team that is only going to get stronger going into next year as all of the current players will be returning in 2022.”
Western Carolina Women’s Golf – 2021-22 Schedule
Fall 2021
Sept. 27-28 APSU Intercollegiate Legacy GC (Springfield, Tenn.)
Oct. 4-5 Aggie Invitational Bryan Park Players Course (Greensboro, N.C.)
Oct. 18-19 Buccaneer Classic Oak Point GC (Kiawah Island, S.C.)
Oct. 25-26 Terrier Intercollegiate CC of Spartanburg (Spartanburg, S.C.)
Nov. 8-10 French Broad Intercollegiate The Cliffs at Walnut Cove (Arden, N.C.)
Spring 2022
Feb. 7-8 Lady Bison Bay Point Classic Sheraton PCB Golf Resort (Panama City Beach, Fla.)
March 7-8 Oyster Shuck Match Play Charleston Municipal GC (Charleston, S.C.)
March 20-22 Bama Beach Bash Gulf Shores GC (Gulf Shores, Ala.)
April 4-5 Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate Mimosa Hills CC (Morganton, N.C.)
April 17-19 SoCon Championship Barefoot Resort & Golf – Dye Course (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.