UT MARTINOHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSSKYHAWKS • 2016, 2021 POSTSEASON MEDIA GUIDE 2021 NCAA REGIONAL • MAY 17-19 1 UT MARTIN SKYHAWKS GOLF SAGAMORE CLUB NOBLESVILLE, IND. Hosted by BALL STATE UNIVERSITY The Skyhawks are one of 13 teams who will take part in the Noblesville Regional, which will be held at the Sagamore Club. UT Martin will be playing alongside Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, North Florida, Louisville, South Florida, UAB, Duke, UNC Wilmington, Arkansas State, Campbell and Loyola-Chicago. Additionally, individuals from Missouri, Minnesota, Purdue, West Virginia, Coastal Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois State, Butler and Dayton will join the field in Noblesville. Designed by PGA Tour legend Jack Nicklaus, the Sagamore Club Teams (seeded in the following order): stretches through rolling, wooded terrain on the north side of 1. Texas Indianapolis in Hamilton County. The Sagamore Club is par-72 course 2. North Carolina that plays at 7,173 yards. 3. Tennessee 4. North Florida UT Martin clinched its spot in the NCAA Regional field after 5. Louisville carding an 861 (-3) at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship, 6. South Florida which was held in Muscle Shoals, Ala. on April 25-27. The Skyhawks 7. UAB claimed a two-shot victory in the event and also produced the co- 8. Duke medalist in senior Jack Story (204, -12). It marked the second OVC 9. UNC Wilmington team championship in school history while Story became only the 10. Arkansas State third player in program history to finish atop the OVC’s individual 11. Campbell 12. UT Martin leaderboard. 13. Loyola-Chicago First-year UT Martin head coach Austin Swafford, voted as the 2020- Individuals: 21 OVC Coach of the Year by his peers, oversees an all-Tennessee 1. Ross Steelman, Missouri scoring lineup that includes three-time All-OVC honoree Nick Wolf 2. Angus Flanagan, Minnesota (70.8 scoring average), two-time All-OVC recipient Story (72.0), 2021 3. Joe Weiler, Purdue All-OVC selection Tate Chumley (72.1), two-time All-OVC winner 4. Mark Goetz, West Virginia Ross Redmont (73.6) and 2020 OVC All-Newcomer Jacob Uehlein 5. Zack Taylor, Coastal Carolina (74.1). 6. Alex Goff, Kentucky 7. Cole Bradley, Purdue The low five teams and the low individual not from those teams in 8. David Perkins, Illinois State each NCAA Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, 9. Michael Cascino, Butler which will be held on May 28 through June 2 at the Grayhawk Golf 10. Henry May, Dayton Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. 2 2021 NCAA REGIONAL • MAY 17-19 OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS • 2016, 2021 AUSTIN SWAFFORD HEAD COACH • FIRST SEASON • UT MARTIN, 2017 Former All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree Austin Swafford is in his first season as head coach and fourth overall season on the coaching staff at his alma mater in 2020-21. He is currently the second youngest NCAA Division I head men’s golf coach, trailing only Wagner’s Nick Drago (by 59 days). The 2020-21 campaign proved to be a historical one for Swafford and the Skyhawks as the program claimed its second OVC championship in school history. UT Martin shot its best 54-hole OVC Championship score in school history, carding an 861 (-3) for the tournament for a two-stroke victory in Muscle Shoals, Ala. The victory advanced the Skyhawks to the NCAA Regional, held in Noblesville, Ind. In addition to its team championship, UT Martin also produced the OVC’s individual medalist in Jack Story. The senior posted three consecutive 68’s on his way to a 204 (-12), which is tied with two others for the best 54-hole score in OVC Championship history. Story became only the third Skyhawk to capture OVC medalist accolades, joining Brendon Caballero (2015) and Hunter Richardson (2016-17). Swafford’s debut season brought many accolades to the UT Martin program. Swafford was voted by his peers as OVC Coach of the Year, as he joined Eastern Kentucky’s Pat Stephens as the only men to garner both an All-OVC mention as a student-athlete and an OVC Coach of the Year honor. He also became just the fourth person (first since 1984) to earn OVC Coach of the Year accolades in his first season at the helm. The Skyhawks accounted for three of the league’s All-OVC honorees (Nick Wolf, Tate Chumley, Story) and also won the OVC Team Sportsmanship Award for the seventh consecutive year (an all-time OVC record). UT Martin’s 286.8 stroke average in 2020-21 led the OVC by two full shots over the second-place team. Despite the abbreviated schedule, the Skyhawks won five tournaments and finished as runner-up in another. Swafford transitioned into the role of head coach after serving as UT Martin’s lead assistant during the 2019-20 campaign. Although the season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was one of the program’s finest seasons. UT Martin won four consecutive tournaments for the first time in school history to close out the fall campaign. Overall, the Skyhawks won five of their nine tournaments and finished as runner-up in two more events - finishing tied for first in the OVC with a 286.2 scoring average. A school record four UT Martin representatives racked up OVC golf accolades (three All-OVC, one All-OVC Newcomer) while Jack Story was named UT Martin’s Bob Carroll Male Athlete of the Year in 2019-20. The Skyhawks also accounted for four OVC Golfers of the Week, two OVC Golfers of the Month (the first two in school history) and set a new team record with a 3.75 Grade Point Average for the Spring 2020 semester. Two years ago, Swafford closely worked with All-OVC golfer Ross Redmont, who became only the ninth golfer in program history to achieve that status. Redmont ranked third in the league in stroke average (72.0), just 0.3 shots behind the leader. In 2017-18, Swafford assisted with a UT Martin program that ranked second in the OVC in stroke average (291.6) - just 0.1 strokes off the league lead. The Skyhawks captured four tournament titles in 2017-18, including three straight victories in the month of October. A four-year starter for head coach Jerry Carpenter, Swafford became just the seventh golfer in UT Martin history to garner All-OVC honors when he accomplished that feat as a senior in 2016-17. He ranked eighth in the conference with a 73.2 scoring average while nabbing five top-six tournament finishes. That came after a 2016 campaign where he helped the Skyhawks tally their first-ever OVC championship, as UT Martin took part in the NCAA Franklin Regional hosted by Vanderbilt University. In 2013-14, Swafford was named OVC Freshman of the Year - becoming just the second player in school history to earn that title. In July of 2017, Swafford was named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He was one of just 260 Division-I golfers and 10 OVC honorees to earn the prestigious award. He accumulated a combined 3.45 overall Grade Point Average over his four-year academic career and received OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll accolades in each of his first three seasons as a Skyhawk. A Gallatin, Tenn. native, Swafford graduated from UT Martin in 2017 with a degree in finance. He earned his Master’s degree from UT Martin in 2019. Jerry Carpenter SCOTT Carpenter Volunteer Assistant Volunteer Assistant FIRST SEASON 17TH SEASON UT Martin, 1966 UT Martin, 1966 2021 NCAA REGIONAL • MAY 17-19 3 UT MARTIN SKYHAWKS GOLF 2020-21 ROSTER LEFT TO RIGHT: VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT JERRY CARPENTER, NICK WOLF, TATE CHUMLEY, MASON CHANDLER, PEYTON DIX, JACOB UEHLEIN, ROSS REDMONT, HEAD COACH AUSTIN SWAFFORD, LUKE SMITH, JONATHAN XOINIS, JACKSON TWERDAHL, BRYSON MORRELL, JACK STORY, ETHAN RAY, VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT SCOTT CARPENTER. Name ............................................................. Year ...................................... Major ............................................................Hometown (Previous School) Mason Chandler ...............................................R-Senior ........ Ag/Natural Resources Systems Management ...................................Kenton, Tenn. (Gibson County HS) Tate Chumley ...................................................... Junior .................... Health and Human Performance .............................................Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Oakland HS) Peyton Dix .........................................................R-Senior ......................... Business Administration .........................................................................Eads, Tenn. (Memphis) Bryson Morrell ................................................Sophomore .................................Engineering .......................................................................Knoxville, Tenn. (Bearden HS) Ethan Ray ..........................................................Freshman ....................................Accounting ............................................................... Collierville, Tenn. (Collierville HS) Ross Redmont ...................................................R-Senior ......................... Business Administration .................................Memphis, Tenn. (Memphis University School) Luke Smith .......................................................Sophomore .............................Communications ............................................................Covington, Tenn. (Covington HS) Jack Story .............................................................Senior ........................... Business Administration ................................................Dickson, Tenn. (Dickson County HS) Jackson Twerdahl .............................................Freshman