APSU Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s golf opens the fall portion of its 2016-17 campaign with a trip to Ledbetter, Kentucky for the Drake Creek Invitational.
The Govs, who finished fifth in last year’s edition of Murray State’s fall tournament, return a full complement to this year’s event, held at Drake Creek Golf Club—a par-72 measuring out at 6,178 yards.
The 54-hole tournament tees off 8:30am, Monday and Tuesday, with 36 holes on Day One and 18 on the finale.
“We’re excited to get the season started this week at a great venue,” said head coach Sara Robson. “We will need to relax and play with the confidence we have been displaying (during qualifying). Course management is key at Drake Creek, as well as putting ourselves in good positions if we miss the greens.”
Although the loss of three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference standout Jessica Cathey to graduation won’t be easy to overcome, Robson welcomes back a slew of significant contributors from last season’s squad.
Chief among them will be senior Morgan Kauffman, who stepped up with a fifth-place finish at last season’s OVC Championships, becoming Austin Peay’s first All-Tournament honoree since Chelsea Harris (2011).
Taylor Goodley, who netted Austin Peay’s first OVC All-Newcomer honor since 2013, is back to help Kauffman anchor the head of the Govs lineup, while Ashton Goodley, AnnaMichelle Moore and Sarah Beth Struble earned their spots in Austin Peay’s opening week lineup through solid qualifying efforts.
Also competing at Drake Creek will be Amber Bosworth, Kelsey Schutt and newcomer Meghann Stamps.
“The girls are playing awesome and I can’t wait to see them play,” Robson said. “Taylor will lead us off; she came out playing well and ran away with qualifying. AnnaMichelle is playing confidently but it’s her mental game improvement that has made the biggest difference. Struble has made improvements with her short game that have allowed her to shoot some of the best scores of her career.
“Ashton and Kauffman will round out our lineup. Ashton’s consistency helped her score during the six-round qualifier. Kauffman is hitting the ball well and we are looking for her length to help us his week. We have dealt with some early injuries but are hoping they don’t bug us to badly this week.”
Austin Peay’s first look at tournament competition this fall will feature a stout field. In addition to the Governors and host Murray State, Austin Peay will face foes from Akron, IPFW, Lipscomb, North Carolina A&T, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky, as well as OVC foes Belmont, Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Tennessee State.
