Paul Conroy
Photo by: GoMocs.com
Men’s Golf Had an Historic Run in 2022-23
6/13/2023 10:02:00 AM | Men's Golf
Paul Conroy led the Chattanooga Mocs back to the top of college golf in a record-breaking 2022-23 campaign.
STATS/NOTES | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA GOLF
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team put together the best turnaround in NCAA Division I Golf in 2022-23. It was a season of several highs with nary a low to be found. The program ended up No. 41 in the country, which was a 94-spot jump in the Golfstat rankings ending the previous year at 135.
The Mocs won four times as a team, twice behind individual winners, and set new records along the way.
"Man, what a year it has been," Coach Blaine Woodruff reflected. "This group of guys deserve all the credit and earned the records and accolades we received this year. They bought in to changing the standard early in the fall and never looked back. It wasn't always easy, as nothing worth it ever is, but they continued to push themselves and their teammates to be great. Chattanooga Golf is back on the map, and I'm excited about what the future holds.
"We are only getting started."
The highlight of the year though came in the postseason with the 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, ninth as team. The Mocs battled a stacked NCAA Auburn Regionals field that included five top 25 programs in No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Auburn, No. 24 Colorado State and No. 25 Ohio State. Four of those advanced with Chattanooga as the likes of the Vols, Washington and TCU watched the eighth-seeded Mocs move on to Arizona finishing third behind the host Tigers and Commodores.
It was just the third team entry into the NCAA Finals also going in 2009 and 2012. The group tied for 23rd missing the cut but added three more top 25 wins beating No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 19 Oregon and No. 22 Colorado State along the way.
Just one senior moves on in Alex Cobb who served as an alternate in the postseason. All-Southern Conference performers Paul Conroy, Garrett Engle, Samuel Espinosa and John Houk return along with regular starter Braedon Wear. Reserves Carson Johnson, Nick Etherton and Gabe Hunter are in the fold as well.
Despite the seemingly set lineup, the Mocs have open qualifying for every event. The only way to be exempt is to finish in the top 10 in the previous tournament so everyone competes for starting spots. That setup was apparent with two different starting lineups used in the four wins.
The squad shot 44 under for the campaign, the first under-par season in school history. They were especially strong when it counted most posting a final round average of 280.23 which was 61 under (-4.7).
Two shot par or better in Conroy (-8) and Houk (-4). Those are just the fourth and fifth in program history joining Jonathan Hodge '09 (-9, 2007-08) & Stephan Jaeger '12 (-1, 2010-11 & -22, '11-12).
According to Woodruff, an extended team made a huge impact as well.
"I couldn't be more thankful for the support of so many," he added. "Our alumni, donors, pros at the courses in the area, Mark Wharton, Ken Jones, Ryan Jones and especially our assistant, Nick Robinson. This year was a full team effort."
A look back at 2022-23…
Season Honors
PING All-Region: Paul Conroy & John Houk
All-SoCon: Paul Conroy, Garrett Engle, Samuel Espinosa & John Houk
SoCon Weekly/Monthly Honors
GOTW: Conroy (Oct. 19), Engle (March 22), Houk (April 5 & 12)
GOTM: Conroy (Oct.), Engle (March)
Wins
Wolfpack Invite: Team (286-289-272=847)
Wolfpack Invite: Conroy (70-74-62=206)
Furman Inter.: Team (288-277-273=838)
Wofford Inter: Team (269-275-265=809)
Wofford Inter.: Houk (62-67-67=196)
Hoosier Coll.: Team (293-291-286=870)
Postseason Results
NCAA Auburn Regionals: Team (3rd, Advance)
NCAA Finals: Team (T23, Missed Cut)
Records
Tournament:
18-hole score – 62 (-10/-9), Conroy & Houk (tied record)
36-hole score – 129 (-1), Houk
Team 18 – 265 (-19), Wofford Intercollegiate
Team 36 – 544 (-24)
Team 54 – 809 (-43)
Season:
Par/Better Rounds – 23, Conroy & Houk
Total Par/Better 18s – 101
Total Rounds in 60s – 40
Birdies – 139, Houk
Counting Cards – 35, Espinosa & Houk (tied)
Team Scoring Avg – 285.03
Team Par/Better Rounds – 20
Team Leaders (Min. 50% of team rounds played):
Scoring: 71.26 (-8), Paul Conroy
Par or Better 54s: 7, John Houk
Par or Better 18s: 23, Conroy/Houk
Cards in 60s: 12, Conroy
Par or Better Holes: 82.1%, Houk
Eagles/18: 0.14 (5), Braedon Wear
Birdies/18: 3.56 (139), Houk
Pars/18: 11.08 (432), Houk
Bogeys/18: 2.85 (111), Houk
Others/18: 0.18 (7), Conroy
Par 3 Scoring: 3.06 (+8), Garrett Engle
Par 4 Scoring: 4.05 (+18), Conroy
Par 5 Scoring: 4.59 (-57), Espinosa
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. 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.
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team put together the best turnaround in NCAA Division I Golf in 2022-23. It was a season of several highs with nary a low to be found. The program ended up No. 41 in the country, which was a 94-spot jump in the Golfstat rankings ending the previous year at 135.
The Mocs won four times as a team, twice behind individual winners, and set new records along the way.
"Man, what a year it has been," Coach Blaine Woodruff reflected. "This group of guys deserve all the credit and earned the records and accolades we received this year. They bought in to changing the standard early in the fall and never looked back. It wasn't always easy, as nothing worth it ever is, but they continued to push themselves and their teammates to be great. Chattanooga Golf is back on the map, and I'm excited about what the future holds.
"We are only getting started."
The highlight of the year though came in the postseason with the 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, ninth as team. The Mocs battled a stacked NCAA Auburn Regionals field that included five top 25 programs in No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Auburn, No. 24 Colorado State and No. 25 Ohio State. Four of those advanced with Chattanooga as the likes of the Vols, Washington and TCU watched the eighth-seeded Mocs move on to Arizona finishing third behind the host Tigers and Commodores.
It was just the third team entry into the NCAA Finals also going in 2009 and 2012. The group tied for 23rd missing the cut but added three more top 25 wins beating No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 19 Oregon and No. 22 Colorado State along the way.
Just one senior moves on in Alex Cobb who served as an alternate in the postseason. All-Southern Conference performers Paul Conroy, Garrett Engle, Samuel Espinosa and John Houk return along with regular starter Braedon Wear. Reserves Carson Johnson, Nick Etherton and Gabe Hunter are in the fold as well.
Despite the seemingly set lineup, the Mocs have open qualifying for every event. The only way to be exempt is to finish in the top 10 in the previous tournament so everyone competes for starting spots. That setup was apparent with two different starting lineups used in the four wins.
- N.C. State (by order of finish): Conroy (win), Espinosa, Houk, Johnson, Wear
- Furman: Conroy, Houk, Espinosa, Wear, Johnson
- Wofford: Houk (win), Conroy, Wear, Espinosa, Engle
- Indiana: Houk, Conroy, Espinosa, Engle, Wear
The squad shot 44 under for the campaign, the first under-par season in school history. They were especially strong when it counted most posting a final round average of 280.23 which was 61 under (-4.7).
Two shot par or better in Conroy (-8) and Houk (-4). Those are just the fourth and fifth in program history joining Jonathan Hodge '09 (-9, 2007-08) & Stephan Jaeger '12 (-1, 2010-11 & -22, '11-12).
According to Woodruff, an extended team made a huge impact as well.
"I couldn't be more thankful for the support of so many," he added. "Our alumni, donors, pros at the courses in the area, Mark Wharton, Ken Jones, Ryan Jones and especially our assistant, Nick Robinson. This year was a full team effort."
A look back at 2022-23…
Season Honors
PING All-Region: Paul Conroy & John Houk
All-SoCon: Paul Conroy, Garrett Engle, Samuel Espinosa & John Houk
SoCon Weekly/Monthly Honors
GOTW: Conroy (Oct. 19), Engle (March 22), Houk (April 5 & 12)
GOTM: Conroy (Oct.), Engle (March)
Wins
Wolfpack Invite: Team (286-289-272=847)
Wolfpack Invite: Conroy (70-74-62=206)
Furman Inter.: Team (288-277-273=838)
Wofford Inter: Team (269-275-265=809)
Wofford Inter.: Houk (62-67-67=196)
Hoosier Coll.: Team (293-291-286=870)
Postseason Results
NCAA Auburn Regionals: Team (3rd, Advance)
NCAA Finals: Team (T23, Missed Cut)
Records
Tournament:
18-hole score – 62 (-10/-9), Conroy & Houk (tied record)
36-hole score – 129 (-1), Houk
Team 18 – 265 (-19), Wofford Intercollegiate
Team 36 – 544 (-24)
Team 54 – 809 (-43)
Season:
Par/Better Rounds – 23, Conroy & Houk
Total Par/Better 18s – 101
Total Rounds in 60s – 40
Birdies – 139, Houk
Counting Cards – 35, Espinosa & Houk (tied)
Team Scoring Avg – 285.03
Team Par/Better Rounds – 20
Team Leaders (Min. 50% of team rounds played):
Scoring: 71.26 (-8), Paul Conroy
Par or Better 54s: 7, John Houk
Par or Better 18s: 23, Conroy/Houk
Cards in 60s: 12, Conroy
Par or Better Holes: 82.1%, Houk
Eagles/18: 0.14 (5), Braedon Wear
Birdies/18: 3.56 (139), Houk
Pars/18: 11.08 (432), Houk
Bogeys/18: 2.85 (111), Houk
Others/18: 0.18 (7), Conroy
Par 3 Scoring: 3.06 (+8), Garrett Engle
Par 4 Scoring: 4.05 (+18), Conroy
Par 5 Scoring: 4.59 (-57), Espinosa
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. 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.
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