MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A second consecutive Conference USA title has Middle Tennessee headed back to an NCAA Regional in 2016 with the Blue Raiders headed to Shoal Creek, Ala., as the No. 14 seed.
The Shoal Creek Regional, hosted by Alabama, will be played at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club on May 5-7. The Blue Raiders are one of 18 teams in the regional which is headed up by No. 1 seed and host team, Alabama.
The Blue Raiders earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Regional after claiming the C-USA Championship in Fort Myers, Fla.
True freshman Hanley Long led MT in the conference championship with a one-under par (215) performance, good for a second place finish at the Verandah Club.
Senior Emily Miller (+2, 218) and junior Samantha Gotcher (+3, 219) also logged top five finishes in Fort Myers, helping the Raiders open up a 13-stroke lead to defend their C-USA title.
Middle Tennessee will be appearing in their second consecutive NCAA Regional after being selected as the No. 15 seed in the St. George, Utah, Regional where they finished tied for 13th a season ago.
Middle Tennessee will be playing alongside some familiar opponents in Shoal Creek. The Blue Raiders went toe-to-toe with Missouri to start the season at the Marilynn Smith Invitational, beating the Tigers out by 14 strokes.
MT then saw Alabama, Northwestern and Vanderbilt at the Mason Rudolph Invitational in Franklin, Tenn.
Middle and Missouri met once again in the Tigers’ home tournament, the Johnie Imes Invitational, where MT set a school record 54-hole total but finished second behind the tournament hosts.
Early in the spring schedule the Blue Raiders saw Missouri for the third time this season as well as Regional foes Purdue and New Mexico State.
Middle Tennessee will have a practice round at Shoal Creek on Wednesday, May 4, before kicking off their second regional appearance the following day.
NCAA Shoal Creek Regional Teams
1. Alabama
2. Northwestern
3. Oklahoma State
4. California
5. Iowa State
6. Florida State
7. Tennessee
8. Missouri
9. Purdue
10. Notre Dame
11. Vanderbilt
12. Clemson
13. Michigan
14. Middle Tennessee
15. New Mexico State
16. Eastern Kentucky
17. Oakland
18. Alabama State
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5 MTSU Women Named Golf All-Americans
With a return trip to the NCAA Regionals right around the corner, Middle Tennessee has received prominent representation in the C-USA postseason awards as announced by the league office Wednesday.
Upperclassmen Avery George, Emily Miller and Samantha Gotcher were named First Team All-Conference USA selections while the freshmen duo of Hanley Long and Jenna Burris were both chosen to the All-C-USA Second Team.
“Having three all-conference teams in Conference USA gives a really good representation of who the top golfers are in this league,” head coach Chris Adams said.
“To have five of the top nine scoring averages in the conference you really want to have them recognized for their body of work over the course of the season. I think that’s what we got with where our players were placed on the all-conference teams.”
Coach Adams Named Coach Of The Year
Conference USA released its postseason awards Wednesday morning with Middle Tennessee head coach Chris Adams being honored as C-USA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The recognition comes after Adams led the Blue Raiders to a second consecutive Conference USA Â Golf Championship with a 12-over par performance last week in Fort Myers, where three Blue Raiders finished in the top five.
“It’s a great honor and means a lot to me to be voted as Coach of the Year by the coaches of this league,” Adams said. “There’s no question the only reason I’m getting this honor is because of the success of our girls and the team.”
