Feb. 22, 2007 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

Women’s Golf Team Coming to SMC

Recruiting Already Underway for Fall 2007 Inaugural Season

SPARTANBURG, SC –  The first members of the newly created Spartanburg Methodist College women’s golf team will tee off this fall. 

The SMC Board of Trustees recently approved the creation of a women’s golf team, which will open its inaugural season in the Fall of 2007.  

“Our Board of Trustees was very supportive of this move and feels that now is the right time to start this program. We’re very excited about this decision and look forward to having a successful first season,” says Dan Philbeck, SMC Vice-President for Enrollment Management. 

The move comes as part of the College’s strategic plan for growth of the athletic department. Approximately 190, or one-fourth of the student body, currently participate in at least one of the college’s intercollegiate sports. 

Philbeck says that the College has seen increased interest from students and the SMC community in recent years regarding the creation of a women’s golf team. 

“Having a high-caliber women’s golf team will definitely be attractive from a recruiting standpoint,” says Philbeck. 

SMC athletic director and men’s golf coach Mark Perdue says that his goal is to recruit 10 players for the first season of women’s golf.  

“Our recruitment plans for this team are already underway, and we’ve already received some very strong interest from some very talented young ladies,” says Perdue 

Perdue is also currently looking for potential candidates to fill the newly created women’s golf coach position. 

“The goal is to have someone who is already familiar with athletic recruitment on the college level, who can relate well to the players, and can serve as a mentor to them,” he adds. 

The team will be one of only three women’s golf teams in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Louisburg Community College and Cape Fear Community College, both in North Carolina, are the only other two schools in Region X to offer women’s golf. 

“In order to build our schedule, we will need to look at teams outside our region and possibly outside of our athletic association. That, in itself, will add to the exposure of our women’s golf team and will increase our competitive edge,” says Perdue. 

The team’s season will operate in conjunction with the men’s golf season, which includes matches in both the fall and spring.  

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 96th year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning. 

For more information, please contact athletic director Mark Perdue at (864) 587-4237.

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