GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's golf team will officially open the 2021-22 campaign next week as they compete at the King University Invitational at the Country Club of Bristol.
TU head coach Ross Cash returns four letter-winners from last year's squad which finished seventh at the South Atlantic Conference Women's Championship.
Of the returners, all four were regulars in the Tusculum line-up which accounted for five top-5 performances including tournament wins at the Agnes McAmis Memorial and the UVA Wise Invitational.
The most veteran player on the squad is Nashville senior Olivia Cunningham. Cunningham has recorded 45 competitive rounds at TU where he has a 78.76 career stroke average, which is the fifth-lowest in program history. During her career she has a dozen finishes in the top-20 which includes six top-10 performances and five finishes in the top-5.
Last season, Cunningham posted a 79.33 scoring average while qualifying in seven events where she finished four times in the top-20 including a season-best fourth place finish at the UVA Wise Invitational. She finished the year with nine rounds in the 70s including a season-best 73 to open the Nichols Intercollegiate.
Sophomore Nilubol Panno competed in seven tournaments last season where he finished second on the team with a 77.40 scoring average which is the second lowest ever posted by a TU rookie and nine-best overall. She accounted for five top-20 finishes including four times in the top-10 and three in the top-five. The Phuket, Thailand native captured medalist honors at the UVA Wise Invitational winning in a three-hole playoff. She also finished runner-up at the McAmis Memorial and third at the Lady Bearcat Invitational which included a season-low 71.
Senior Hannah Brown will be competing in her third season at Tusculum. She posted a 79.20 scoring average last year which was third-best on the team. The San Tan Valley, Arizona native qualified for all seven events last year where he logged four top-20 outings, including two times in the top-10. Brown tied for fourth place at the McAmis Memorial and nine at the UVA Wise Invitational. She also finished 17tth at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate where she carded a season-best 75 in the final round.
Senior Jacque Butler rounds out the quartet of returners for the Pioneers. The Milan, Ohio native posted her best campaign at TU last season as she qualified for five tournaments and posted an 86.82 stroke average. She carded a 15th-place finish at the UVA Wise Intercollegiate and 20th at the McAmis Memorial. She matched a career-low with an opening round 81 at the SAC Championship.
The Pioneers will have a trio of newcomers including senior Carolin Wassmann (Wiesbaden, Germany), sophomore Sofie Lorentzen (Aarhus, Denmark) and redshirt freshman Braelyn Pippin (Waxhaw, N.C.).
Including the King Invitational, the Pioneers will play in four tournaments this fall and six events in the spring culminating with the 2022 SAC Championship in Hartsville, South Carolina.