– Nine scheduled tournaments including four in the fall semester and five spanning the spring, culminating with the 2023 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship comprise Western Carolina’s 2022-23 women’s golf schedule released today by head coach
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The Catamounts open the season in mid-September in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Jennifer Duke Invitational, hosted by the University of Cincinnati, with three of the squad’s nine seasonal tournaments to be played in the Lowcountry of South Carolina surrounding Charleston. The regular season reaches its crescendo with the conference championship with the team champion from the event garnering the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA postseason.
“Our schedule this year reflects a good variety of golf courses and competition while still preparing us well for the postseason,” said Gunter, who is entering her fifth season leading the Catamount women’s golf program.
The Catamounts head to the Sunshine State to open October at the Jupiter Women’s Invitational, hosted by Florida Atlantic University at the Jonathan’s Landing Golf Course in Jupiter, Fla., Oct. 3-4. The final scheduled event of the fall semester is slated for Oct. 17-18 at the Buccaneer Classic, hosted by Charleston Southern at the Crowfield Golf Club in Goose Creek, SC, just north of Charleston. WCU finished fourth at last year’s Buccaneer Classic, though it was contested on a different course in Kiawah Island, SC
The five-event spring semester opens back in the South Carolina Lowcountry as WCU looks to defend its team match-play championship from 2022 at the Oyster Shuck, hosted by SoCon-foe The Citadel at the Charleston Municipal Golf Course. The Catamounts won all three matches over the College of Coastal Georgia (4-1), rival Appalachian State (4-1), and Austin Peay State (3-2) to claim the hardware in last year’s match-play event.
WCU returns to the 843-area code at the end of February for the RiverTowne Invitational, a second tournament hosted by Charleston Southern. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will be held in Mount Pleasant, SC The team’s lone scheduled event in March sees the squad head to Boulder City, Nevada, for the Jackrabbit Invitational, hosted by South Dakota State at the Boulder Creek Golf Club . The Catamount men’s team competed at the same venue back in 2019.
The Catamounts return to the familiar course at the Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton for the final tune-up before the conference championship. WCU finished fourth at last year’s event, hosted by Appalachian State. This season marks the 10th time since helping co-found the event with App State back in 2009 that the Catamounts will participate in the tournament in the western North Carolina foothills.
The 2023 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship is scheduled for April 17-19, returning to the South Course at the Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, SC This season marks the first time since 2019 that the SoCon will crown its champion at Moss Creek with the venue hosting the women’s championship for the ninth time since 2009. The Catamounts look to build upon last year’s sixth-place finish, the best for the team since 2016.
“Traveling to Florida and out west to Boulder City, Nevada gives our student-athletes a chance to play in different conditions than we would normally and against teams we rarely see in our normal schedule,” said Gunter. “We will also be traveling to the coast quite a bit throughout the year, which is once again an effort to prepare us in the best way possible for our conference tournament being held in Hilton Head.”
She added, “While we don’t have a home tournament, we are playing close by in Greensboro this fall and Morganton next spring and would love to have a gallery as we compete against some local rival programs.”
WCU returns five golfers from last year’s roster led by a fifth-year senior Madison Isaacsonsenior Victoria Laddand last year’s leading scorer, sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer, who paced the Catamounts with a seasonal stroke average of 74.96 – the fourth-best single-season score in program history. Lohbauer is joined by classmates in redshirt sophomore Kayleigh Baker and sophomore Kaitlyn Wingnean. Gunter and the Catamounts added four freshmen to the 2022-23 roster including Madison Logan (Brasstown, NC), Brie Mapanao (Quakers Hill, Australia), Sadler Miller (Clayton, NC), and Brooke Sutton (Concord, NC).
“This should be a very exciting year for Catamount Women’s Golf. We have all our starters returning this season while adding several newcomers that will make for some tough competition to get into the lineup. We hope to build on the momentum we created last year, continue to move up in the rankings, and win some tournaments.”
Western Carolina Women’s Golf – 2022-23 Schedule
Fall 2022
September 12-13 – Jennifer Duke Invitational – Losantiville CC (Cincinnati, Ohio)
September 26-27 – Aggie Invitational – Bryan Park GC (Greensboro, NC)
October 3-4 – Jupiter Women’s Invitational – Jonathan’s Landing GC (Jupiter, Fla.)
October 17-18 – Buccaneer Classic – Crowfield GC (Goose Creek, SC)
Spring 2023
February 13-14 – Oyster Shuck Match Play – Charleston Municipal GC (Charleston, SC)
February 26-28 – RiverTowne Invitational – RiverTowne CC (Mt. Pleasant, SC)
March 13-14 – Jackrabbit Invitational – Boulder Creek GC (Boulder City, Nev.)
April 3-4 – Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate – Mimosa Hills CC (Morganton, NC)
April 17-19 – 2023 SoCon Women’s Golf Championship – Moss Creek GC (Hilton Head Island, SC)