UTC Mocs logoUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf coach Mark Guhne caught a lunker of a largemouth bass last week.
"If we win the big trophy," Guhne joked Thursday, "I'd retire and be our bass-fishing coach."
The Mocs are aiming for a smaller trophy first -- or at last getting close to winning it.
They won the South Central Regional last year, the little trophy, and are seeking to repeat as a region champion next Thursday through Saturday at the Midwest Regional on the Scarlet Course of the Ohio State Golf Club.
It's a fun time of the year for the team. The Mocs slept late Thursday, warmed up at the UTC Practice Facility and then played 18 holes at The Honors Course.
"Everything builds toward this," Guhne said. "The guys are out of school, so all we do is golf [and fish], and a lot of the other pressures of being a coach or student-athlete are gone, and that's nice.
"And when it's just the five of them, I get to play a little on occasion and the weather is great."
But nothing, well, except winning the national championship or repeating as a region champion, could top the tournament UTC enjoyed last May at Olde Stone Fort in Bowling Green, Ky.
Over the course of those three rounds, UTC's Stephan Jaeger earned medalist honors by four shots, Steven Fox shot a course-record 8-under-par 64 and Davis Bunn buried a hole-in-one on the 16th hole of the final round.
"Everything happened that week. We were destined to win," Bunn said. "Jaeger went low, and Fox set the course record which they probably don't count, and my ace was special. That week, everybody had something special. It made that week fun."
Almost as fun as fishing.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.