CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---Chattanooga Mocs men's golf coach
Mark Guhne continues to work on preparing for the spring portion of the 2015-16 season. But he also must keep an eye on 2016-17 and with that in mind, he's added two to that roster.
"Recruiting is the life blood of a program," Guhne shared. "I'm excited about Phillip and Oliver and the impact they can have on our program. You are always excited on signing day, but both of these young men are talented, and I think they are great fits to our returning roster next year."
The duo are high school senior Oliver Simonsen and junior college transfer Phillip Hickam. Both are accustomed to playing for championship-level programs.
"That's important," Guhne added. "Both expect to win. They come from a background where if their team doesn't win, it's a disappointment."
Simonsen is a Chattanooga native and son of Honors Course head professional Henrik Simonsen. Oliver prepped at Baylor leading it to the 2015 TSSAA Division II-AA State Championship. He finished second in the event with a 3-under 141 turning in an opening 72 before a 3-under 69 final round.
He captured the 2013 Black Creek Junior Classic and was runner-up at the 2014 Under Armour/Scott Stallings Championship. Simonsen boasts a fourth-place at the 2013 SJGT Tournament of Champions and eighth at the 2014 AJGA Preseason Junior at Pine Island.
Hickam is a returning All-American at the junior college power Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He's currently the seventh-ranked player in NJCAA Division II while MGCCC rates second.
A season ago, he tied for second at the NJCAA National Championship. He recently finished fourth at the 2015 MACJC Tournament and also has top 5s at the 2013 AJGA Junior at Southwind (T2), 2013 U.S. Junior Qualifier (T3) and 2013 TSSAA Division II-A (4th) at Northpoint Christian.
The Mocs return to the tee Feb. 22-23 at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate in Mobile, Ala. News, features, live scoring and more are available on GoMocs.com and by following @GoMocsMGLF on twitter.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.ABOUT CHATTANOOGA GOLFThe Chattanooga Mocs golf program has won six Southern Conference Championships (1987, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013) since joining the league in 1977-78. The Mocs have twice been ranked No. 1 in the nation during the falls of 2008 and 2009. It boasts:
- 4 NCAA Championships Appearances: 1993 (Individual-Neil Connolly), 2009, 2012, 2014 (Individual-Chris Robb).
- 3 All-Americans: Jonathan Hodge (2008), Stephan Jaeger (2012) and Chris Robb (2014).
- 1 NCAA Regional Team Tile: 2012 Bowling Green.
- 1 NCAA Regional Medalist: Stephan Jaeger (2012 Bowling Green).
- 2 Top 25 season-ending rankings: 2008 (12) and 2009 (25).
- 1 United States Amateur Champion: Steven Fox (2012).
- 1 Scottish Amateur Champion: Chris Robb (2014).
- 4 Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars: Derek Rende (2009, 2010) and Jaeger (2011, 2012).
- 2 SoCon Champions: Donnie Green (1978) and Jaeger (2012).
- 5 SoCon Golfers of the Year: Hodge (2007, 2008) and Jaeger (2010, 2011, 2012).
- 3 SoCon Freshman of the Years – Rende (2007), Jaeger (2009) and
Andrew Weathers (2015).