After winning two tournaments and climbing 75 spots in the national rankings in 2018-19, USF will embrace even tougher tests this upcoming season.
USF is excited about hosting a new event called the Old Friends Invitational Feb. 17-18 at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club.
TAMPA, JULY 23, 2019 – USF women’s golf continued “The Uprising” of the program in a big way last season and the goal is to take improvement to the next level throughout the 2019-20 schedule that was released this week by the coaching staff.
After winning two tournaments and climbing 75 spots in the national rankings in 2018-19, the second-fastest rising program in the nation will embrace even tougher tests during a nine-tournament run through six different states this upcoming regular season.
“There’s a big uptick in the strength of schedule this year, which is something Coach Dalton Stevens and I are really excited about,” head coach Erika Brennan said. “Because tournaments are all invitationals, you have to improve your ranking to get invited to better events. Kudos to the girls last year for laying that foundation and improving our ranking.”
The Bulls will open their four-event fall schedule with the Inverness Women’s Collegiate Sept. 16-17 in Toledo, Ohio. Inverness Club is the host site of the U.S. Junior Amateur this summer and the LPGA’s Solheim Cup will take place there in 2021.
“Our first event of the fall is going to be baptism by fire,” Brennan said. “The Inverness event will have a stacked field, a lot from the Big Ten and ACC. We’re going to see some really strong competition right out of the gates and I think that’s exciting for us because we’ll know very quickly the areas we need to improve in and how we stack up against the best.”
USF then travels to Greenville, S.C., to compete in the Lady Paladin Intercollegiate for the second straight season Sept. 27-29 at Furman University Golf Course. The Bulls also will make a return trip to Virginia Beach, Va., for Old Dominion University’s Princess Anne Invitational (Oct. 4-6) after collecting their third straight top-10 finish last fall at Princess Anne Country Club.
“It’s a phenomenal event,” Brennan said. “I don’t think there’s any other event in the country that the membership of the club treats us as well as that event. All of the things they do outside of the true scope of competition is just first class.”
USF will get to play on another top-notch course Oct. 13-15 during the 2019 Magnolia Invitational in West Point, Miss. Old Waverly Golf Club was selected to host the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur and was the site of the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open.
“It will be cool to end the fall on a course I’m familiar with and a course that I think our team’s strengths align with the layout,” said Brennan, who last coached at the Magnolia Invitational with Southern Miss.
The spring season will begin in special fashion with USF hosting a new event called the Old Friends Invitational Feb. 17-18 close to campus at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club.
“The idea is you’re inviting programs where you’re good friends with those coaches and you’re kind of creating a community. Hopefully you’re getting your student-athletes to interact amongst programs,” Brennan said. “I’m really excited about getting a chance to host at Tampa Palms. That’s a place that treats us well and it’s nice to be able to showcase that as our home course.”
USF’s spring continues with the Florida State Matchup Feb. 29 – March 1 at Seminole Golf Course and Club in Tallahassee. The Bulls will have an opportunity to capture team and individual titles on top of earning bragging rights by winning with a partner school.
“In addition to it running like a regular stroke play event, there’s also a matchup portion,” Brennan said. “You play in twosomes for the 36-hole day and you and your partner school do a cumulative score.”
USF is happy to join forces with fellow American Athletic Conference program Memphis for the event.
“Coach Beth Harrelson is a great friend of mine and we’re really excited because that’s going to be two American Athletic Conference schools that get to go make a statement,” Brennan said. “We’re pumped to be paired with Memphis.”
The Bulls’ three-tournament swing through the Sunshine State wraps up with the Gator Invitational March 7-8 at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville.
“It’s an incredible, well-coached program and a great course,” Brennan said. “After taking a one-year hiatus from that event, it’s really nice to get invited back.”
USF will compete in the Valspar Augusta Invitational for the second straight spring March 14-15 at Forest Hills Golf Club. The Bulls will head back to Georgia to defend their title at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate March 29-31 in the regular season finale at Eagle’s Landing Country Club. Last spring, USF won by 22 shots while senior Natalia Villavicencio hoisted her second individual trophy of the season.
“It’s going to be a blast,” Brennan said. “I think that tournament last year was such a pivotal moment for us and it built some momentum going into the conference championship.”
The American Championship returns to Hammock Beach Resort’s Conservatory Course in Palm Coast, Fla., April 19-21. NCAA Regionals are set for May 11-13 and the NCAA Championship will take place May 29-June 3 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
About USF Women’s Golf
Veteran head coach Erika Brennan completed her first full season with USF in 2018-19 and helped the Bulls become the second-fastest rising program in the country as they climbed 75 spots in the national Golfstat rankings. The Bulls opened the 2018 fall season with a runner-up finish at the USA Intercollegiate and also placed second at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational to wrap up their four-tournament run before the spring. In the spring opener, USF captured the program’s first tournament team title since April 11, 2017 with a two-shot victory at the Florida Challenge. USF finished up the regular season with a 22-shot win at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate on April 2. Freshman Ramya Meenakshisundaram became the first Bull to earn all-conference honors since 2016.
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Tom Zebold
Senior Writer, Assistant Director of Communications
University of South Florida Athletics
GoUSFBulls.com
