June 9, 2010
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By Leigh Torbin
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's' golf team will open its 2010-11 season on one of America's most famous courses and hopes to conclude it in College Station, Texas at the NCAA Championships. Second-year head coach Courtney Trimble unveiled the schedule on Wednesday.
"There is a nice balance to this schedule and I like that we'll get to go a little farther west with an event in San Antonio and a little farther north with one in Chicago," said Trimble of the first schedule that she compiled on her own for the Knights. "There is a very good mix of tournaments in terms of the strength of the fields we will be seeing. This is all designed to build towards the post season and allow us to play better as the year goes along. The spring schedule in particular is more spread out to allow for a good balance of academics and post-season preparations. Also, moving the UCF Challenge up will give us a great way to start off our spring at home."
The Knights will begin their fall campaign with a rare single-day event as Jacksonville University will host the Labor Day Shootout in Ponte Vedra Beach at the famous TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. Known worldwide for its iconic island green on the 17th hole, the course serves as the home of The Players Championship, widely considered to be the PGA Tour's "fifth major."
UCF's fall slate will continue Sept. 12-14 in the gorgeous setting of Charleston, S.C. at the Cougar Classic. UCF will head to suburban Chicago on Oct. 4-5 for the Windy City Collegiate hosted by Northwestern at Northmoor Country Club in Highland Park. It will mark just the second time since 2004 that UCF has competed north of the Mason-Dixon Line, joining a trip in September of 2007 to Madison, Wisc. for the Badger Invitational.
It will be a quick turnaround from there for an event at LPGA International in Daytona Beach from Oct. 8-10. UCF also played on that course this past fall in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championships. Additionally, LPGA International is an NCAA Regional site for 2011 so the Knights hope this won't be their only trip east on I-4 next year. The fall half of the Knights' slate closes from Oct. 31-Nov. 2 with the Alamo Invitational at Briggs Ranch in San Antonio.
The annual UCF Challenge has been moved up on the schedule and this year opens the Knights' spring season, Feb. 13-15 back at the RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento. This will be the fifth edition of the UCF Challenge and the fourth to be played at RedTail. Some of the highlights of an always-solid field are NCAA Championship participants South Carolina, Texas and Tulane along with Golfstat Top 50 squads Georgia State and Ole Miss.
UCF takes to the road for the first time Feb. 27-March 1 for the Kinderlou Forest Challenge in Valdosta, Ga. As the road to the Conference USA Championship nears, the Knights will play on a pair of SEC home courses. UCF will participate in the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational from March 6-7 in Gainesville and then the Rebel Intercollegiate April 1-3 at Ole Miss's University Golf Course in Oxford, Miss.
The 2011 Conference USA Championship is set for April 17-19 at the Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club in Gulf Shores, Ala. From there, UCF is hopeful to earn a spot in either of the three NCAA Regionals from May 5-7. In addition to LPGA International, Notre Dame and Washington will host regional events in South Bend, Ind. and Seattle, respectively. The ultimate goal is to advance past there to the NCAA Championship which will be contested from May 18-21 at the Traditions Golf Club in College Station, Texas, home of Texas A&M.