The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf team has a nice history of participating in the NCAA postseason. The Mocs have extended each of the past eight seasons under coach Mark Guhne.
That streak is in jeopardy.
UTC must win the Southern Conference tournament championship beginning today at Pinehurst No. 9 in North Carolina. If another team wins, the Mocs will be done with their college season.
"The last time we had to win conference was the very first time eight years ago," Guhne said Friday while driving his team through the Carolina mountains. "Every year since, we knew we were going to a regional.
"But this year is a little different."
UTC is ranked No. 75 by GolfStat and is No. 71 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings. Neither is high enough to earn UTC an at-large berth to an NCAA regional even with a runner-up finish Tuesday.
"The guys know we have to go win," Guhne said. "We're not going over there protecting anything. Everybody is trying to figure out a way to beat (No. 40/ No. 41) ETSU.
"There's a lot of parity in the league this year. I know there are eight teams, but the top five have beaten each other all year."
Guhne drove senior Liam Johnston, sophomores Ewan Scott, Wes Gosselin and Brooks Thomas and freshman Andrew Weathers with him in the van through Asheville to the 54-hole event.
All but Weathers endured the pain of finishing runner-up last year by one stroke to Georgia Southern on the same golf course.
"It was pretty annoying," Scott said. "We still made it to regionals, which softened the blow a little bit.
"But this year, we have to win because we don't have a backup plan. We have to go put it all together."
Weathers, who prepped at McCallie, is in position to earn SoCon freshman of the year honors. To date, he is having a similar season to former UTC All-American and current Web.com Tour player Stephan Jaeger.
"We obviously need to win to move on, which is one motivation," Weathers said. "But getting a ring is the main goal. I think we're all going to have a good week.
"I have a feeling that this week is going to be the week."
Last year, UTC lost more than a handful of shots with errant tee shots resulting in the runner-up finish instead of shiny rings. Each of the players, as well as Guhne, said driving has been a key focus of practice during recent weeks.
"We made a couple mistakes last year that cost us a conference championship," Guhne said. "I know we won't make those same mistakes.
"It's about learning when and where to be aggressive or use some caution and manage your game and emotions."
The final emotions of the 2014-15 season will be determined by the end results Tuesday.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.