By: Colby Wilson, Director of Athletics Communications
CLARKSVILLE—It's about that time.
Austin Peay State University women's golf team begins its pursuit of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship, Sunday, at Hampton Cove on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama.
Hampton Cove, the northern gateway to the Trail, is a 54-hole facility with terrain that drastically changes from one side of the property to the other. Renovated in 2008, The Highlands Course—where this year's Championship will be contested—has been restored to its original Scottish Links design. or the OVC Women's Championship the course will be par 72 with a yardage of approximately 6,025; the OVC Women's Golf Championship was previously held at Hampton Cove from 2015-17. The event was scheduled to be at the course last year before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season.
Parity is paramount to this season's event—fewer than 15 shots separate the league's top team from No. 7 based on stroke average per round. With last season's championships canceled due to COVID-19, much will have changed since the last time the league got together in Alabama.
Take Taylor Dedmen as an example. The last time Austin Peay competed for the league title, Dedmen was but a precocious freshman as she slotted into the top spot in the Governor lineup. Now a veteran, Dedmen will be the only Gov in this week's lineup with prior tournament experience. Her 77.9 stroke average leads the Governors into the weekend as the clear-cut No. 1 second-year head coach Jessica Cathey's first run at tournament glory.
Slotting in behind Dedmen will be classmate Shelby Darnell and freshman Kady Foshaug, whose 18th-place showing last week at the Jan Weaver Invitational was the best by a Governor this season. Seniors Riley Cooper and Andrea Presilla both will make their OVC Tournament debuts Sunday morning for the Governors.
Austin Peay begins the 2021 OVC Championships 8:40 a.m. (CT), Sunday; the Govs will be paired with Belmont and Tennessee Tech in the opening round. The three-day event features one 18-hole round each day and wraps up Tuesday.
