Sunday, September 20
Greenville, S.C.
Georgia Southern University
at
Furman Lady Paladin Invitational
L-R: Ansley Bowman, Ariana Macioce, Taylor Thompson, Yeji Shin, Iben Hvass and Annie Swords.
Another Journey Begins at Georgia Southern
9/19/2015 11:58:00 AM | Women's Golf
Women's golf program plays in its first tournament this weekend
Live scoring | Pairings
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern will launch its 17th varsity athletics program Sunday, when the women's golf program tees it up at the Furman Lady Paladin Invitational. The tournament will mark both the culmination of a lot of hard work to get a Division I program started and the beginning of a new journey aimed to emulate the storied tradition and success of Georgia Southern golf.
It's been two years in the making since Georgia Southern announced it would start the program shortly after moving up to FBS football and into the Sun Belt conference. Coach Emily Kuhfeld was hired by Director of Golf Larry Mays in the summer of 2014 and has been on the go since she stepped foot on campus – recruiting and putting together an inaugural roster, making a schedule, hiring a staff, procuring equipment, making travel arrangements and overseeing some modifications to the Bennett-Ramsey Golf Center, which now houses the men's and women's programs.
It's finally time to compete, and for Kuhfeld, the 2015-16 season is about continuing to lay the foundation and build the culture of the fledgling program.
"Our main emphasis right now is our team culture and holding true to our values, and if we do that, then we're going to hit our goals," she said. "We're definitely focused on what we can control in the moment and then seeing what happens, but I feel like if we can do that, then we have a really good chance to be successful."
The success of the men's program, in addition to the golf facilities at Georgia Southern, the university itself and the chance to build something, were all part of her recruiting pitch, which helped her put together a roster of six. Make no mistake about it, the goals Kuhfeld and the Eagles have are lofty, despite being a first-year program. She and her team are well aware of success of the men's program, and their goal is to attain that same level.
"It's an amazing opportunity to begin something, be part of the very first, but then we used a lot our men's success and said 'this is where we're going'," Kuhfeld said of her recruiting pitch. "It was easy to sell the excitement so I feel that we have very strong players coming in who want to equal or even surpass what the men have done."
Iben Hvass (Denmark/Western Texas College) and Taylor Thompson (Baton Rouge, La./Centenary College) will be transferring in to begin their junior seasons with the Eagles, while Ansley Bowman (St. Augustine, Fla./Bartram Trail), Ariana Macioce (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep), Yeji Shin (Norwood, N.J./Old Tappan) and Annie Swords (Newnan, Ga./Heritage School) will be the Eagles' first freshman class.
"Everybody is here for a specific reason, and everybody can add so much to this program," said Kuhfeld. "It's been really interesting watching them kind of settle in to their roles on the team but we've really talked about developing everybody has a leader and everybody holding each other accountable. They are doing a great job with that."
The inaugural schedule features four tournaments in the fall and six in the spring, and the Sun Belt Championship will be held April 10-12 at Raven Golf Club in Destin, Fla. That will be the Eagles' third tournament in the state of Florida, and they spend the fall in North and South Carolina.
"There are so many great tournaments within a five-or six-hour drive from this area," said Kuhfeld. "It's a great mix of tournaments and a great mix of good golf courses in good locations. They are going to be exposed to everybody and kind of see where we fit in."
Just over two years since Georgia Southern announced it was adding women's golf, the first tournament is finally on the horizon for Kuhfeld and the Eagles, and they are ready to make their own mark.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events can be purchased by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com and clicking on the tickets link in the top menu.
| Tournament Name: Lady Paladin Invitational Host: Furman Location: Greenville, S.C. Dates: Sept. 20-22 Course: Furman University Golf Club Par: 72 (6,313 yards) Format: 54 holes (18 each day) Tee Times: Tee times on Sunday and Monday, Shotgun on Tuesday Field: Brown, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Columbia, East Tennessee State, Furman, Georgetown, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Kennesaw State, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Samford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Wofford |
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern will launch its 17th varsity athletics program Sunday, when the women's golf program tees it up at the Furman Lady Paladin Invitational. The tournament will mark both the culmination of a lot of hard work to get a Division I program started and the beginning of a new journey aimed to emulate the storied tradition and success of Georgia Southern golf.
It's been two years in the making since Georgia Southern announced it would start the program shortly after moving up to FBS football and into the Sun Belt conference. Coach Emily Kuhfeld was hired by Director of Golf Larry Mays in the summer of 2014 and has been on the go since she stepped foot on campus – recruiting and putting together an inaugural roster, making a schedule, hiring a staff, procuring equipment, making travel arrangements and overseeing some modifications to the Bennett-Ramsey Golf Center, which now houses the men's and women's programs.
It's finally time to compete, and for Kuhfeld, the 2015-16 season is about continuing to lay the foundation and build the culture of the fledgling program.
"Our main emphasis right now is our team culture and holding true to our values, and if we do that, then we're going to hit our goals," she said. "We're definitely focused on what we can control in the moment and then seeing what happens, but I feel like if we can do that, then we have a really good chance to be successful."
The success of the men's program, in addition to the golf facilities at Georgia Southern, the university itself and the chance to build something, were all part of her recruiting pitch, which helped her put together a roster of six. Make no mistake about it, the goals Kuhfeld and the Eagles have are lofty, despite being a first-year program. She and her team are well aware of success of the men's program, and their goal is to attain that same level.
"It's an amazing opportunity to begin something, be part of the very first, but then we used a lot our men's success and said 'this is where we're going'," Kuhfeld said of her recruiting pitch. "It was easy to sell the excitement so I feel that we have very strong players coming in who want to equal or even surpass what the men have done."
Iben Hvass (Denmark/Western Texas College) and Taylor Thompson (Baton Rouge, La./Centenary College) will be transferring in to begin their junior seasons with the Eagles, while Ansley Bowman (St. Augustine, Fla./Bartram Trail), Ariana Macioce (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep), Yeji Shin (Norwood, N.J./Old Tappan) and Annie Swords (Newnan, Ga./Heritage School) will be the Eagles' first freshman class.
"Everybody is here for a specific reason, and everybody can add so much to this program," said Kuhfeld. "It's been really interesting watching them kind of settle in to their roles on the team but we've really talked about developing everybody has a leader and everybody holding each other accountable. They are doing a great job with that."
The inaugural schedule features four tournaments in the fall and six in the spring, and the Sun Belt Championship will be held April 10-12 at Raven Golf Club in Destin, Fla. That will be the Eagles' third tournament in the state of Florida, and they spend the fall in North and South Carolina.
"There are so many great tournaments within a five-or six-hour drive from this area," said Kuhfeld. "It's a great mix of tournaments and a great mix of good golf courses in good locations. They are going to be exposed to everybody and kind of see where we fit in."
Just over two years since Georgia Southern announced it was adding women's golf, the first tournament is finally on the horizon for Kuhfeld and the Eagles, and they are ready to make their own mark.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events can be purchased by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com and clicking on the tickets link in the top menu.
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