SOCON COACH OF THE YEAR: 2010 • 2011 • 2013 • 2014
Colette Murray was named head coach of the Chattanooga Mocs women's golf program on January 19, 2006. Her charge was to restart a program that had been dormant at UTC for a couple of decades.
She wasted little time in making her mark. In nine seasons, Colette’s charges have won five Southern Conference Championships among 19 total team titles. In fact, the Mocs won four times in that first year (2007-08). Murray’s squads have captured at least one team win in each of her campaigns.
Chattanooga has reached NCAA postseason play in eight of the nine years since Murray returned the Mocs to the tee. The inaugural season saw Emma de Groot (2008-11) qualify individually for the 2008 NCAA East Regionals as did Emily McLennan at the 2016 NCAA Shoal Creek site. Between, the team made six appearances in a row.
The first included a major splash. Murray’s Mocs entered the NCAA East Regionals on the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio and finished eighth advancing to the NCAA Championships.
A tireless worker, her passion and dedication to the game is easy to see. So is her commitment to building an elite program based on the department’s mission of Equipping for Success and its vision to Achieve Excellence.
From 2010-14, Murray’s Mocs won five straight SoCon Championships and boasted four consecutive medalists. McLennan (2014) kept the string alive with a four-stroke win following in the footsteps of de Groot (2011), Jordan Britt (2012) and Agathe Sauzon (2013). Megan Woods added a fifth win in six years at Savannah Quarters Country Club in 2016.
She is a four-time SoCon Coach of the Year (2010-11, 2013-14) and developed the 2011, 2014 and 2016 SoCon Golfers of the Year in de Groot, Britt and McLennan. She’s had three SoCon Freshmen of the Year – de Groot (2008), Maria Salinas (2009) and McLennan (2013) – along with 20 all-league performers and an NCAA All-Regionals Tourney finisher (Maria Juliana Loza in 2011).
Christine Wolf (2008-11) and de Groot moved on to the pro ranks upon graduation. Wolf has full status on the European Ladies Tour, as does Sauzon who qualified for 2016, while de Groot and Britt compete regularly on the Symetra Tour.
de Groot and Wolf set virtually every school record. Emma won six times with a program-best 74.54 stroke average. Wolf holds records for best 18 (66, 2011 JMU Eagle Landing Invite) and 54-hole (209, 2011 JMU Eagle Landing Invite) totals. What they don’t hold, McLennan claimed in 2015-16.
Her teams have twice finished among the top 40 in the nation on the course. After ending up No. 39 in 2010, Chattanooga came in at No. 31 to end the 2011 campaign. The squad just missed in that special 2009 year still posting a top 50 at No. 44.
The athletic side is not the only source of excellence. She has seen her team flourish academically as a unit along with several individual accolades. Loza graduated from Chattanooga in the May 2013 with a near 4.0 grade point average to move on the prestigious Stanford School of Engineering for her Master’s program. She is one of seven WGCA Scholar All-Americans (Britt, Mette Kryger, Yushira Budhram, Marion Duvernay, Isabella Loza and Emily McLennan) in the program’s brief history.
Murray’s Mocs have posted a 3.5 or better grade point average nine times with a high of 3.8224 in the spring of 2014. The 2011 squad ranked No. 13 in the nation among NCAA Division I women’s golf programs with a 3.649 cumulative GPA. That was followed by a No. 10 finish in 2012 (3.621) with every student-athlete earning Dean’s List honors as three – Maju Loza, Britt and Kryger – earned 4.0’s in at least one semester.
Murray and her teams are active in their community in a variety of ways. While not vocal in their actions, the Mocs have been spotted chipping in with different charitable acts.
One of Murray’s favorite endeavors is the Player Development Complex. The Mocs’ practice home is shared with the First Tee of Chattanooga. Instead of just utilizing the facility, Murray and her student-athletes have taken work days at the facility which has a two-fold effect.
One, the team learns all that goes into making their practice home functional. Secondly, it gives them a better appreciation for what others do to make it an elite game-building experience.
In May 2011, Murray received special recognition for her impact on the lives of young people. The Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland honored her with the Empowering Women Global Award.
She’s a 2004 graduate of Jacksonville State University with a degree in General Studies with a concentration in Psychology. She was a four-year letter winner earning seven top 10 individual finishes and 15 top 20’s. Overall, Murray and her teammates claimed 10 team titles.
She gained her first taste of coaching experience working as an assistant to JSU Head Coach James Hobbs, a longtime, successful collegiate head coach. In 2005, Murray helped guide the Gamecocks women's team to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament where JSU placed 20th.
A native of Dumfries, Scotland, she was a member of the Scottish golf team. She also represented Scottish National Teams for both lacrosse and soccer.
Murray completed PAS (Plott Advanced Systems) qualifications, Reaching Your Potential Inc., a program that relates personality with movement in discovering your own learning styles. She is TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) certified golf fitness instructor.
MURRAY AT A GLANCE
Alma Mater: Jacksonville State '04
COACHING RECORD
| Year |
Wins |
Losses |
Ties |
Titles |
| 2007-08 |
113 |
45 |
3 |
4 |
| 2008-09 |
86 |
89 |
2 |
2 |
| 2009-10 |
94 |
70 |
3 |
1 |
| 2010-11 |
105 |
60 |
4 |
4 |
| 2011-12 |
74 |
100 |
3 |
1 |
| 2012-13 |
70 |
92 |
2 |
2 |
| 2013-14 |
118 |
74 |
0 |
2 |
| 2014-15 |
103 |
53 |
2 |
1 |
| 2015-16 |
156 |
32 |
0 |
2 |
| Totals |
919 |
615 |
19 |
19 |
NCAA APPEARANCES
2009 Central Regional (8th of 21)
2009 Finals (21st of 24)
2010 East Regional (18th of 24)
2011 Central Regional (T12th of 24)
2012 East Regional (19th of 24)
2013 East Regional (T19th of 24)
2014 West Regional (17th of 24)
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TITLES
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
SOCON COACH OF THE YEAR
2010, 2011, 2013, 2014
WGCA ALL-AMERICA SCHOLAR
2010: Maria Juliana Loza
2011: Jordan Britt, Yushira Budhram, Marion Duvernay, Maria Juliana Loza
2012: Mette Kryger, Maria Juliana Loza
2013: Jordan Britt, Mette Kryger, Isabella Loza, Emily McLennan
NCAA ALL-REGIONAL
2011: Maria Juliana Loza
TEAM TITLES
2007-08: Chris Banister Gamecock Classic, Great Smokies Women's Collegiate, Hawkeye Invitational, Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational
2008-09: Chris Banister Gamecock Classic, JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
2009-10: Southern Conference Championship
2010-11: Furman Intercollegiate, Kinderlou Forest Challenge, Kinderlou Forest Challenge, JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational, Southern Conference Championship
2011-12: Southern Conference Championship
2012-13: Lady Paladin Invitational, Southern Conference Championship
2013-14: Starmount Fall Classic, Southern Conference Championship
2014-15: Chattanooga Classic
2015-16: Fall Invitational, USA Women’s Invitational
INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS
Kelly Brotherton, 2007 Chris Banister Gamecock Classic
Emma de Groot, 2008 Samford Women's Intercollegiate
Emma de Groot, 2008 Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational
Emma de Groot, 2008 Chris Banister Gamecock Classic
Emma de Groot, 2009 JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
Emma de Groot, 2010 SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational
Christine Wolf, 2011 JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
Emma de Groot, 2011 Southern Conference Championship
Jordan Britt, 2012 Southern Conference Championship
Marion Duvernay, 2012 Lady Paladin Invitational
Agathe Sauzon, 2013 Southern Conference Championship
Agathe Sauzon, 2013 Starmount Fall Classic
Emily McLennan, 2014 Southern Conference Championship
Emily McLennan, 2015 Fall Invitational
Emily McLennan, 2016 Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic
Megan Woods, 2016 Southern Conference Championship
NCAA INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER
2008: Emma de Groot
2016: Emily McLennan
SOCON GOLFER OF THE YEAR
2011: Emma de Groot
2014: Jordan Britt
2016: Emily McLennan
SOCON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
2008: Emma de Groot
2009: Maria Salinas
2013: Emily McLennan
ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
2008: Emma de Groot, Christine Wolf
2009: Emma de Groot, Maria Salinas
2010: Emma de Groot, Maria Juliana Loza
2011: Emma de Groot, Maria Juliana Loza, Christine Wolf
2012: Jordan Britt
2013: Jordan Britt, Emily McLennan, Agathe Sauzon
2014: Jordan Britt, Emily McLennan, Agathe Sauzon
2015: Emily McLennan, Agathe Sauzon
2016: Emily McLennan, Megan Woods
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
2008: Emma de Groot, Christine Wolf
2009: Maria Juliana Loza, Maria Salinas
2011: Jordan Britt, Yushira Budhram, Marion Duvernay
2012: Mette Kryger
2013: Emily McLennan
2015: Megan Woods
2016: Monica San Juan
