Guyer Announces Fall Schedule

BEARS TRAVEL TO HAWAII TO TAKE ON NO. 1 RANKED UCLA

MACON, GA- The Mercer University women's golf team released its 2011-12 fall schedule on Monday, touting a series of events that places the Bears side-by-side with some of the best competition in the nation.

The Bears open the fall slate at the Chris Bannister Classic at the RTJ Golf Trail at Hampton Cove in Huntsville, Ala. on September 4-6. The event marks the second-straight year the team competes at the event, following up a fourth-place finish in 2010.

The fourth annual EAT A PEACH Collegiate – hosted by Mercer - is scheduled for Sept. 18-19 at Oakview Golf and Country Club in Macon. The Bears aim to defend their 2010 title, once again welcoming a swath of Georgia schools to the tournament.  As in years past, every college in Georgia with a women’s golf program is invited to compete.

The Bears then make their annual trek to Daytona Beach, Fla. to play the LPGA Legends course on Oct. 7-9. The tournament consistently features a large field with some of the top teams coming in to compete.

The last tournament of the fall season sees Mercer travel to Hawaii, where the Bears will compete against top-tier competition. The Rainbow Wahine Invitational is held at the Kapolei Golf Course in Honolulu, Hawaii on the first two days of November. It will be a 54-hole tournament with 36 holes played the first day followed by 18 holes on November 2.

"We are excited about the challenges that this year's schedule will present," head coach Gary Guyer said. "Our schedule will give this team a great opportunity to develop throughout the season. We will have a chance to compete against some of the best teams in the country, and prove that we have what it takes when the postseason rolls around."

Mercer returns all of their starters from a year ago and welcomes newcomer Sarah Louie Brown to the roster.  Brown is expected to add depth to the team. Mercer’s two seniors, Alicia Poole and Keri Lynn Carson, will lead the team in the upcoming season. 

The roster also features four juniors, Kimmy Graff, Kaitlin Marrin, Aurelie Wiriath and Jessica Arthur, providing the core for the team. A sophomore duo of Mary Alice Murphy and Lacey Fears are coming off an impressive freshman debut and round out the team.

“The team is going to be pretty good this year”, said Guyer. “We are to the point where we can beat anybody and just have to make sure we don’t beat ourselves.

“Many of our team members had a great season last year and followed it up with an amazing summer that produced several wins and top finishes. Kimmy posted a 2-under in the conference tournament last year while Mary Alice was selected to the A-Sun All-Freshman team. Lacey played consistently good golf last year and had a breakout summer. Kaitlin played well last year and finished high in the tournaments she competed in this summer. Aurelie has been competing in France and has done well. I am looking forward to the start of the season,” commented Guyer.