Jon Dunning
Staff Writer
The Murray State women’s golf team is a 2020 OVC golf favorite according to a poll of league head coaches released on Monday, Feb. 10.
Out of the nine first-place votes in the poll, Murray State received six of them, being chosen over Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Belmont and Austin Peay, among others.
Murray State is entering the spring 2020 season after competing in four tournaments in the fall of 2019. Senior Raeysha Surendran finished in the top 20 at each of these events and won the Chris Banister Classic. Surendran currently leads the OVC in stroke average with 73.9.
Expectations for the Racers to do well this season don’t just stop with other OVC coaches though, as Murray State Head Coach Velvet Milkman sees a lot of potential in her team this season.
“[I] expect us to play well,” Milkman said. “I think we’ve got a lot of talent. We are very young, so we’ve got to continue to mature and get better, but our expectations to perform well are high.”
Even though the Racers are OVC favorites, the team is still looking for ways to get stronger for the games ahead.
“We’ve been practicing and then we’ve had the opportunity to play seven rounds here at our golf course,” Milkman said. “That’s really going to make a difference for our first tournament.”
The three-time defending OVC champions will start the spring season at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, from Sunday, March 1, to Tuesday, March 3. Murray State will then travel to Jacksonville, Florida, on March 9 and March 10 to play at the UNF Collegiate.
Milkman believes the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate is a great event for the Racers to begin their spring campaign.
“[I] feel good about it,” Milkman said. “It’s a three-day tournament…53 teams, which is the biggest college golf tournament in the country. We play on two different golf courses, so it’s a fun tournament. It’s a good way to start the year, and we’ll get to see plenty of competition so we’re really excited about it.”
Murray State will compete at the Bama Beach Bash in Gulf Shores, Alabama, from March 20 to March 22, and will travel to Stockbridge, Georgia, the following week from March 29 to March 31 to play in the John Kirk Intercollegiate.
The Bama Beach Bash will be a new event for the Racer team.
“We’re excited about that one,” Milkman said. “[We are] going to go down a few days early and practice. I like to call spring break our spring training. Usually [we] get into some warmer weather and [get] the chance to really get in some good practice as well as competition.”
The Racers will play at home in Murray on April 10 and April 11 in the Jan Weaver Invitational before venturing to Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, for the Ohio Valley Conference Championship from April 19 to April 21.
Murray State will finish the season at the NCAA Regional, beginning May 11 and concluding May 13 at a to-be-determined location.
No matter which event the Racers compete in this season, Milkman stresses that her team views each one as equally important.
“Every tournament for us is one we want to go out and compete and have a chance to win,” Milkman said. “So, we kind of break it down into segments. This is the most important one for now, then the next one and the next one. They’re all important…and all of them are good. To us, they all carry the same weight.”
Murray State golf is anticipating a fun and competitive season ahead.
“We’re excited to get ready and play,” Milkman said. “We’ve been practicing a lot. It’s time to get out and see what we do against the other competition, and we’re excited about the challenge.”
The Racers will compete in their first event of 2020 at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate on Sunday, March 1.
