Sept. 25, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. - The UCF women's golf team opens its 2008-09 campaign this upcoming weekend as the Knights head to the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. for the Mason Rudolph Classic. The field is one of the strongest to be found during the regular season as nine of the nation's top 10 programs, and 16 of the top 41 overall, will be in attendance this weekend outside of Nashville.
The 54-hole tournament takes place this Friday through Sunday on the par-72, 6,217-yard Legends South Course, with 18 holes being played every day of the event.
The Knights are coming off of one of their most successful seasons ever as the 2007-08 team advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in six years. UCF brings back each of its three top golfers from that team in senior May Tomimbang (75.75 average) of Kissimmee, senior Stephanie Connelly (76.55 avg.) and sophomore Jessy Tang (77.42 avg.). Junior Victoria Tomko and sophomore Katie Detlefsen round out the team's returnees. The five are joined this year by freshman Marika Lendl, one of the top junior players in the country and the daughter of tennis star Ivan Lendl.
Emilee Klein is back for her fourth year as the head coach at UCF. The former Collegiate Player of the Year at Arizona State and LPGA Tour professional has reshaped the UCF program back to national prominence, as evidenced by her guiding the team to the NCAAs last spring. Klein will be assisted this year by Carrie Sordel, the program's first-ever full-time assistant coach. The Windermere native was an all-regional player for Florida State, helping the Seminoles to three top-25 finishes.
The Knights will be strongly challenged in the Volunteer State this weekend. The field in Franklin includes the No. 1 ranked, defending NCAA champion USC, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Purdue, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Auburn, No. 10 Alabama, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 13 Arizona, No. 15 Arkansas, No. 20 Stanford, No. 25 Tennessee, No. 28 Vanderbilt and No. 41 UCF along with Chattanooga. All rankings are from the Golfworld/NGCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.