UTC women's golfers ready for selection show

photo UTC Mocs logo

Selection Monday for the NCAA women's golf tournament isn't the same as Selection Sunday for the NCAA men's basketball tournament in terms of national publicity or popularity.

But emotions for the players and coaches are similar for teams knowing that their name will be called on national television.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team plans on enjoying this evening in front of a television tuned to the GolfChannel.

"It's a lot more publicized for basketball, but for golfers it's definitely an exciting time," UTC coach Colette Murray said. "It's fun for us getting to see where we're going to go."

The selection of 72 teams and six individuals to three NCAA Regional sites will be announced during the show Golf Central which starts at 6 p.m.

Unlike teams on the bubble -- on any selection day -- the Mocs know that they're in the tournament field for a seventh consecutive season. They earned an automatic berth by winning the Southern Conference by five shots on May 15 in Hilton Head, S.C. UTC won the tournament for a fifth straight season with sophomore Emily McLennan winning medalist this season.

The automatic berth prevented any stress of what the players will see tonight and allowed them to focus their attention elsewhere -- final exams.

"I gave them five or six days off, but none of them took all that time off," Murray said. "Their focus has been on getting exams taken care of then maybe getting a little work in.

"They've been enjoying the last couple of weeks."

Murray enjoyed her Sunday afternoon with a little ping-pong.

"I've only seen them all once, and that was yesterday," she said. "They were in good spirits."

The Mocs will likely cheer when their assignment to a regional is announced. The possibilities are SouthWood Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., and Tumble Creek at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Wash.

"I kind of like Oklahoma State's course because it's a harder course to play," said Murray, knowing that the UTC men's team advanced from Karsten Creek to the NCAA championships in 2009. "It's been very good to the Mocs."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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