Steven Fox sported a bit of groomed chin hair when he showed up for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s golf team picture.
It didn’t help him look older, wiser or more experienced.
Yet the sophomore is the second-most experienced college player on the Mocs team as they head into the 2010-11 season.
“It’s a younger team, and it’s a different feeling being a veteran, and it’s a good feeling to have,” Fox said. “We brought in five freshmen who have superior talent. We lost some important guys. But hopefully we’ll have a team just as good, if not better.”
The familiar faces and personalities of last year are gone.
Derek Rende (quick-witted), Fredrik Qvicker (carefree), J.T. Clendenin (a linebacker with a weapon) and Tripp Harris (quiet and calm) have turned pro. They all were part of the team that had UTC ranked No. 1 in the country for a while three years ago.
There are more new faces in that team picture than ever before.
“Don’t ask me their names,” coach Mark Guhne joked before the snapshot was taken at the UTC and First Tee player development complex. “I just give them a number or a nickname.”
Fox and junior Stephan Jaeger are the only returners, leaving Jaeger as the veteran of the senior-less squad.
“It’s a whole new team and it’s kind of strange,” Guhne said. “It feels like the first year of coaching again.”
The Mocs are in the process of a six-day qualifier to determine the lineup for their first tournament of the season.
“Everybody has a shot to make it, and I just know that a few of us are going to fire in the 60s,” Fox said. “I have no idea who’s going to make it. Everybody has the same shot.”
UTC and 11 other perennial power teams — including defending champion Tennessee — will descend on The Farm Golf Club at Rocky Face, Ga., for the Sept. 10-12 tournament known as the Masters of college golf: the Carpet Capital Collegiate.
But first, five golfers must get through the equivalent of the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School to make UTC’s starting lineup.
“I think they’ll listen to guys who have experience,” Jaeger said. “We haven’t really played yet. But I think the team is very fresh. I think the team got old.
“This year, we don’t know who’s going to make the tournament.”
The starting lineup at the Farm may not be the same five who compete for a Southern Conference championship in the spring.
That’s life without a senior.
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
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