ATLANTA – With a goal to win another conference championship and return to NCAA Regional play for the seventh time, the Georgia State women's golf team started qualifying this week for the upcoming 2016-17 season. A feel of excitement is in the air as a young team has gotten a little older, welcomes a pair of newcomers and another who redshirted last year.
“The team is ready and excited for the season to get underway,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “The last couple of years we have been rather young, but those underclassmen have become upperclassmen and understand what it takes to win and be successful.
“We are also excited to welcome Emily Royer back after she redshirted last year with an injury. She is extremely talented and should compete for our top spot. We also welcomed two freshmen to the team who will also compete immediately for spots in the line-up and add depth to our squad.”
Seniors Jooeun Bae and Solene Le Coz will lead a program that has won five conference championships under 17th-year head coach Cathy Mant. The duo is joined by juniors Paula Zabarte and Yasemin Sari, along with Royer who have multiple years of experience in the program.
However, arguably the top returner from last year is sophomore Jemima Gregson who was one of the top freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference. Gregson finished the year with a team-best 76.38 scoring average and three top 10 finishes.
Freshman Grace Choi and Harmanprit Kaur are the two newcomers to the line-up. Both are Atlanta (Buford and Lawrenceville) junior golfers who have impressive resumes on some of the top tours.
The fall season opens on Sept. 6 with the Louisville Invitational, a one-day event which will take place in Duluth, Ga., at Berkeley Hills Country Club, which also serves as home of the Georgia State men's golf team.
A few days later, the Panthers will travel to Mobile, Ala., for the USA Intercollegiate hosted by conference foe South Alabama, Sept. 10-12.
Georgia State will close the month at the Lady Paladin Invitational hosted by Furman in Greenville, S.C., Sept. 23-25.
The month of October will open and close in Florida, beginning with the Jacksonville Classic at Marsh Landing Country Club in Jacksonville, Oct. 3-4.
The Panthers will head to Pinehurst, N.C., for the Pinehurst Challenge, Oct. 10-11, before closing the month at the Pat Bradley Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., Oct. 23-25.
